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J3y Kennedy JfoTbrooI6 




1887. 




Copyright, 1886, 
By WORTHINGTON CO. 



PREFACE 



Although this book is ostensibly a " boy's book," 
many things which it contains are equally nsef ul to girls ; 
and have been tried by the latter with entirely satisfac- 
tory results. In fact, it was to afford amusement and 
occupation, on rainy Saturdays and during the long 
vacation, to the children of both sexes in my own family, 
that the book was first written ; and it was only an after- 
thought which led me to give it to the public. 

Everything it contains has been deduced from my own 
experience or that of some trustworthy friend. While it 
has been my aim to meet the wants of children of all 
ages and in every condition of life, I have studiously 
avoided every subject which might be a source of anxiety 
to the most careful parent. 

It is with the hope that this little work may fulfill its 
mission in other families where it may be received, as 
happily as it has done in mine, that I send it on its way. 

The Author. 

October, 1886. 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

iEoLiAN harp, the 68 

Air, earth, or the sea ? 244 

Alum crystals, methods of coloring 25 

Amusing experiment with tooth-picks 17 

Animated fire 26 

Annealing (repousse) 180 

Antiques and horribles 230 

Aquarium, the, 186 ; the author's fresh- 
water aquarium, 189 ; trouble of keep- 
ing a gold fish globe, 190 ; plants for 
fresh-water aquarium, ib ; artificial aer- 
ation, 191 ; salt-water aquarium, 191 ; 
preparing rock- work for, 192; minnows, 
194 ; sticklebacks, 195 ; nest of stickle- 
back, 19T ; hermit crabs, 193 ; snails, 199; 

medusa?, sea-anemones, 200 ; serpuke 203 

Arithmetical curiosity, an 274 

Arithmetical trick, an 37 

Baby, a box-sled for 44 

Basket, a hanging 118 

Balancing doll, the 20 

Balancing pin, the 44 

Ball, a good 16 

Bangle bracelet, a 184 

Barometer, a boy's 18 

Barometer, an infallible 19 

Battledore and Shuttlecock 251 

Birds, Japanese paper 78 

Blow-pipe, how to make a 27 

Boats, paper 83 

Boats, papier-mache 90 

Book, how to make a 11 

Boomerang, the 20 

Boot puzzle, the 57 

Boston clapper, the 71 

Bottles, to cut the top from 18 

Bottle imp, the 107 

Bottle, t he obedient 281 

Boxes, paper 119 

Box-sled for baby 44 

Boy's barometer, a 18 

Boy's solar microscope, a 216 

Bracelet, a handle 1S4 

Brackets, an idea for 115 

Brass, hammered, or repousse 175 

Bridge, the triple 283 

Bubbles, soap 31 

Bubbles, resin 32 

Burning the center from a handkerchief . . 304 

Button-hole, to pull a string through a 314 

Camera obscura, 144-154; principle of cam- 
era, 145 ; camera with horizontal screen, 
146 ; a simpler form, 149 : the sketching 

camera, 150 ; the darkened room 152 

Camping-out cooking-stove, a 308 

Captain S's peg puzzle 23S 

( !ars. a set. of 47 

Cards, the three magical 33 



PAGE 

Card-receiver, papier-mache 75 

Card-receiver, repousse 179 

Checkers 256 

Chickens, the musical 235 

Chinese rope feat 312 

Christmas presents, 113, 318 ; the orna- 
mental egg, 113 ; trinket-holder, 114 ; an 
idea for brackets, 115; cone and twig 
bracket, 116 ; pebble vase, 117 ; cone and 
twig hanging-basket, 118 ; shaving-case, 

123 ; puzzles 318, 321 

Circle, how to make a 268 

Circus, the magnetic 269 

Clapper, the Boston 71 

Coin, how to palm a 287 

Coin, how to pass a 288 

Compass, a home-made 265 

Cone and twig bracket 116 

Cone and twig hanging-basket 118 

Cooking-stove, a camping-out 308 

Corn-stalk fiddle 64 

Counter puzzle, the 38 

Countenance, necessity of a sober 31 1 

Cross puzzle, the 3, 

Crystallize grass, seed-vessels, etc., how to 21 

Crystals, how to color alum 25 

Crystal vase, the 317 

Curiosity, an arithmetic.-d 274 

Dancer, the pith 280 

Danger of repetition 291 

Darkened room, the 152 

Dart, the self-rectifying 43 

Days in a month, number of, one way to 

find 274 

Dispatcher, the magic 237 

Divided square puzzle 14 

Doll, the balancing 20 



41 
113 
'3! 15 

82 
273 
•i7."j 



Easy proof for sums in multiplication, an. 

Egg, the ornamental 

Egg, the perambulating 

Egg, the tumbling 

Eg2:, to produce raised figures on 

Electrical experiments 

Electrophorus, the 

Electrophorus, a simple 

Electrophorus ebonite 

Experiment with electricity 

Experiment with flower-seeds 

Experiment wi i h tooth-picks 

Experiment with two pieces of glass 



Eace, the grimacing 15 

Fan, from Nagasaki, a 323 

Feat, Chinese rope 312 

Fiddle, corn-stalk 64 

Fire, animated 2(5 

Fire, a new way to kindle a 263 

Flower-seeds, experiment with 141 



3 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Flying whirligig, the 10 

Fountain, a simple 322 

Foxing 179 

Frame for impressions of plants 87 

Frame for a plaque 185 

Freight train, a 51 

Friction, light produced by, under water . . 138 

Game, an optical 37 

Garden , a winter 54 

Garden, a mineral 316 

Class, experiment with two pieces of 15 

Glass, how to blow 27 

Good ball, a 16 

Grimacing face, the 15 

Grasses, Bow to crystall ize 24 



Half-dollar, how to melt and re-coin 

Halos, the three 

Hammered brass, or repousse 

Handkerchief, burning center from 

Hanging-basket, a 

Harp, aeolian 

Hat, the inexhaustible 

Hat trick, another 

Home-made compass, a 

Hour of the day, how to tell the, by (he left 

hand 

How to blow glass 

How to break a string 

How to crystallize grasses, seed-vessels, etc. 

How to cut the tops from glass bottles 

How to make a book 

How to make a blow-pipe 

How to make a circle 

How to melt and re-coin a half-dollar . 

How to melt stones 

How to palm a coin 

How to pass a coin 

How to pull a string through a button-hole 

How to rob Peter and pay Paul 

How to skeletonize leaves 

How to take impressions of plants 

How to take portraits 

How to tell the hour of the day by the left 

hand 



Idea for hrackets, an 115 

Imp, the bottle 107 

Impressions of plants, how to take 83 

Impressions of plants, frame for 87 

Inertia, illustration of 2-4 

Inexhaustible hat, the 291 

Infallible barometer, an 19 

Japanese paper bird 7'8 

Jew's-harp, the spirit 261 

Leather work, 123-128; in Russia, 124; 
"Cuir Bouilli,'" 125 ; a panel of leather 

work 126-1 28 

Leaves, how to skeletonize 141 

Left hand, to tell the hour of the day by. . . 128 

Leyden jar, a 279 

Light produced by friction under water. . . 138 

Locomotive, the toy 48 

Lot of paper windmills, a 52 



Magical cards, the three 
Magic dispatcher, the ... 



33 

297 



Magic rope, the 307 

Magic telescope 22 

Magnetic circus, the 269 

Melt and re-coin a half-dollar, how to 301 

Melt stones, how to 31 

Method of coloring alum crystals 25 

Microscope, a boy's solar 216 

Mineral garden, a 316 

Miniature yacht and how to rig her 331 

Month, one way to find the number of 

clays in a 274 

More elaborate panorama, a 165 

Multiplication, an easy proof for sums in . 41 
Musical chickens, the 235 

Nagasaki, a fan from 323 

Necessity of a sober countenance 311 

New way to kindle the fire, a 263 

Number thought of by a person, to tell the 37 
Numbers, two or more, to tell 40 

Obedient bottle, the 281 

Objects, some, for solar miscroscope 225 

Octagon puzzle, the 318 

One way to find the number of days in a 

month 274 

Optical game, an 37 

Ornamental egg. the 113 

Ornament for boys to make 26 

Palm a coin, how to 287 

Panel of leather work, a 126 

Panorama, the toy, 160-172 ; panorama of 
former generation; 161-162 ; simplest 
form of toy panorama, 163-165 ; a more 
elaborate panorama, 165-172. 
Paper bird, the Japanese, 78-81 ; paper 
boats, 83-86 ; paper boxes, 119-122 ; a 
lot of paper windmills, 52-54 ; a fan 

from Nagasaki 323 

Papier-mache, 73 ; materials for, 74 : proc- 
ess of working, 74-75 ; card-receiver, 
75; umbrella-holder, 76; vase, ib.; pa- 
pier-mache - flowers, 77 ; papier-mache 

boats 90-92 

Pass a coin, how to 288 

Pebble vase, the 117 

Peg puzzle. Captain S's 238 

Perambulating egg. the 295 

Photographic printing 154 

Pin, the balancing 44 

Pith dancer, the 280 

Plaque, frame for 185 

Plants, how to take impressions of 86 

Plants, frames for impressions of 87 

Portraits, how to take 60 

Presents, Christmas 11<, 318 

Proof, an easy, for sums in multiplication. 41 

Puppet, the windmill 7 

Puzzle, the boot , 57 

Puzzle, the counter 38 

Puzzle, the cross 320 

Puzzle, the octagon 318 

Puzzle, peg, Captain S's 238 

Puzzle, the square 321 

Puzzle, the divided square 14 

Raised figures on an egg, to produce 273 

Re-coin a half dollar, how to 301 

Regatta windmill 215 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Eepetition, danger of 291 

Repousse work for boys, 172-184 ; Nubian 
bracelets, 172 ; hammer for repousse 
work, 173; other tools for repousse work, 
176 ; marking the design, ib.; plaque in 
hammered brass, 177 ; composition for 
deep work, 178 ; card receiver, 179 ; fox- 
ing, ib.; annealing, 180 ; a salver in re- 
pousse, 181 ; a silver bangle for a brace- 
let, 182 ; a bangle bracelet 184 

Resin bubbles 82 

Ring toss 255 

Ring trick, the Turkish 299 

Rob Peter and pay Paul, how to 289 

Room, the darkened 152 

Rope, the magic 307 

Rope feat, the Chinese 312 

Salver in repousse 181 

Schooner yacht, a 345 

Screw-propeller windmill, the 210 

Sea- mosses, 226-230 ; where found, ib.; how 

227 ; how to arrange on paper 227-229 ; 

more elaborate arrangements 229-230 

Self-rectifying dart, the 43 

Set of cars, a 47 

Shaving-case, a 123 

Side-wheeler windmill, the 211 

Simple form of camera, a 149 

Simple electrophorus, a 277 

Simple fountain, a 322 

Siphon, a 28 

Skeletonize leaves, how to 141 

Sketching camera, the 150 

Slate games for children 243 

Sloop yacht 336 

Snake, the 13 

Soap bubbles 31 

Sober countenance, necessity of 311 

Solar microscope, a boy's 216 

Solitaire 249 

Some electrical experiments 275 

Spirit jew's-harp, the 261 

Square puzzle, the divided 14 

Square puzzle, the , 321 

Steam-boat, the toy 93 

Stencils, 130-137 ; method of making, 133 ; 

collection of stencils in book-form, 135 ; 

color decoration with stencils 136-137 

Stones, to melt 31 



PAGE 

String, how to break a 63 

String, how to put a string through a but- 
ton-hole 314 

String, how to unite a parted 314 

Sums iu multiplication, an easy proof for. 41 

Telescope, the magic 22 

Telescope, a, which a boy can make 110 

Tit-tat-to 243 

Thirty-one 246 

Three halos, the 82 

Tooth-picks, an amusing experiment with 17 

Toy panorama, the 160 

Toy steam-boat, the 93 

Train, a freight 51 

Trick, an arithmetical 47 

Trick, Turkish ring 299 

Trick, another hat 294 

Trinket-holder 114 

Tumbling egg, the 82 

Turks and Russians 245 

Twig and cone bracket 116 

Two pieces of glass, experiment with 15 

Vase, the crystal 317 

Vase, the pebble 117 

Vase, a papier-mache 76 

Windmills, 204-216; the wooden wind- 
mill, 206-209 ; mode of mounting the 
windmill, 210 ; the screw-propeller, 210- 
211 ; the side-wheeler, 212-214 ; the re- 
gatta windmill 215 

Winter garden, a 54 

Whirligig, the flying 10 

Xylophone, the 65 

Yacht, the miniature, and how to rig her, 
331-352 ; miniature yacht regattas, 334 ; 
model of yacht, 335 ; makinir the hull, 
336-337 ; how to cast and attach a lead 
keel, 337-338 ; the deck, 338 ; bowsprit 
and rudder, 339 ; mast and other spars, 
340 ; standing rigging, 341-342; sails, 343; 
running rigging, 344-345. A schooner 
yacht, 345 : spars and stays for a schooner 
yacht, 346-349 ; belaying, bolt ropes, reef- 
points, 350 ; painting the miniature 
yacht, 350-351 ; flags 352 



HOW? 

OR, 

SPAEE HOURS MADE PROFITABLE. 



THE WINDMILL PUPPET. 

This amusing little puppet is very easily constructed, 
and, like several other mechanical toys in this book, fur- 
nishes much entertainment for the little folks. Even the 
baby will sit in her high chair, half -hours together, watch- 
ing the little man turning his crank, while she claps her 
tiny hands and crows at so delightful an exhibition of 
untiring energy. 

Cut from cardboard a disc like Fig. 2, which shall 
measure about six inches across ; then by means of a 
ruler draw the lines abed; half-way between these 
points make four others, corresponding to efgh; and 
lastly, between all these, still another set of lines. Make 
the circle, m, one -and-a- half inches in diameter, and with 
a pair of sharp scissors cut through all these lines, to the 
edge of the smaller ring. Bend one edge of each of these 
triangular pieces slightly upward, as indicated by the 
shading, and the opposite edge downward ; also bend a 
piece of wire a foot long, so as to form the crank indicated 
in the illustration. 



8 TEE WINDMILL PUPPET. 

Next make a frame-work for the figure to rest upon : 
this should consist of a three-cornered piece of wood, six 
inches long for the bottom, a stick six or seven inches 
long for the upright, and lastly, the support for the upper 
part of the wire, with a small hole in one end for the latter 




to pass through. Fasten these pieces together with small 
brad-nails, and secure the upright to the bottom piece by 
a screw or nail passing up from below. The wire, having 
the crank already bent in the proper place, may now be 
passed up through the hole, and the other end sunk down 
into another, bored a short distance into the bottom 



THE WINDMILL PUPPET. 



board, directly below the upper one. Then the wire may- 
be fastened to the windmill, by passing it through a little 
one side, then back again through on the other side of 
the center ; twisting the end once or twice about the main 
stem beneath the windmill ; it now turns with the wind- 
mill, and it is needless to say that the friction in the holes 
should be as slight as possible. 

The figure is to be cut from a piece of cardboard and 
is made in five pieces. ^ 

The lower half, which 
comprises the box, legs, 
and body up to the 
dotted line, is in one 
piece ; the head and 
body to the lower edge 
of the belt, consists of 
two pieces, cut pre- 
cisely alike, and lap- 
ping on either side of 
the lower part of the 
body over the dotted 
line, to give strength 
to the image. A pin 
passed through the belt, and bent down on the other side, 
will hold it in place, and allow sufficient play to the figure. 
There are two arms, cut from the same pattern, and piv- 
oted at the shoulders with another pin. The hands are 
finally brought together, with tfhe crank between them, 
and lightly secured on either side with two or three 
stitches. 



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10 



THE FLYING WHIRLIGIG. 



To impart life to this creation, it is placed over a fur- 
nace register through which the hot air is briskly rising. 
If the machine works easily, the current of air above a 
stove may suffice. 



THE FLYING WHIRLIGIG. 

This amusing toy consists of an empty spool with two 
pins driven into its head, as seen in the figure. With a 

pair of pliers break off 
the heads of the pins be- 
fore driving them in po- 
sition, then take a piece 
of soft wood and make a 
spindle, like that repre- 
sented in the figure at A, 
and drive another head- 
less pin into the small 
end. Lastly, cut from a 
piece of cardboard a fig- 
ure like the one marked 
B, making three holes, 
a a a, with the point of 
a darning-needle, corre- 
sponding to the two pins 
in the spool and the one in the spindle. 

Bend the edges marked x and y in opposite directions. 
Now place the spool on the spindle and wind a piece of 
twine around the spool ; then place the piece of paste- 
board upon the top, letting the pins pass up through the 
row of holes in its center. 




HOW TO MAKE A BOOK. 11 

Holding the machine upright in the left hand, with a 
quick movement of the right, jerk the string from the 
spool, and the cardboard will fly through the air with a 
very graceful motion. 

If stripes of color are added to the ends, as seen in the 
cut, a much prettier effect is produced while the whirligig 
is in operation. These stripes can be painted in red, 
white, and blue water colors, or may be formed by pasting 
on narrow strips of bright-colored paper. 

If the first trial does not succeed, wind the string in the 
other direction, or put on the ' ' card flyer, ' ' with the other 
side next the spool. The same causes which make it soar 
away in the one case will hold it yet more firmly to the 
spool in the other. 



HOW TO MAKE A BOOK. 

Do any of my boy readers know how to make a book ? 
Not the fine volumes turned out by the thousand in our 
great publishing houses, but the little individual books 
made by boys and girls, and needing for their construc- 
tion only an old used-up ledger, a small tin pan of paste, 
and scraps cut from newspapers or books. These bits 
may consist simply of poems, or they may be " a little of 
all sorts." 

I recently saw a very nice book of this kind made by a 
boy of twelve, which was composed entirely of humorous 
pictures and jokes, culled from several illustrated and 
daily papers, one or two almanacs, and various other 
chance publications, which he had collected during the 



12 HOW TO MAKE A BOOK. 

year. Whenever he found any bright or witty thing, he 
would carefully preserve the clipping by putting it in a 
large paper box he kept in a convenient place for that 
purpose. 

He reserved the pasting for rainy days and winter even- 
ings, and as he took much pains with the arrangement 
and neat appearance of his book, this operation was 
necessarily slow, and formed a pleasant occupation for 
many hours which would otherwise have been wasted. 

In making such a book, do not try to complete it in a 
week or even a month, but let it, like my boy friend's, 
furnish amusement for a year. 

Get your father and mother interested, and ask them to 
save any scraps they may see, and think appropriate for 
the purpose. 

A handsomely bound scrap-book, specially designed for 
this use, would certainly be the most desirable thing to 
have ; but if such a book cannot be obtained, an old ledger 
does very nicely in its place, and if, after it is completed, 
you cover it carefully with a piece of smooth brown paper 
and print its title neatly on the back, it will look very 
well on any table where you may wish to keep it. 

If the latter is used, cut from it every other two leaves, 
reserving the third, through the book. Next be careful 
to trim all your clippings neatly, leaving no extra paper 
beyond the edges. Fit the different slips nicely on the 
pages, filling the little spaces left from the longer articles 
with any little jokes or bits of poetry you may have. 
Frequently a whole piece of newspaper poetry is hardly 
worth preserving, but some one of its stanzas may be very 



THE SNAKE. 



13 



pretty and just the thing to fill up a place you may have 
left. 

It is well to collect all these little things you can find, 
for they always come in nicely when pasting, and your 
book looks much better when finished if the original sur- 
face is entirely covered. 



THE SNAKE. 

Cut from a piece of Bristol board, or 
stiff paper, a circle measuring four inches 
in diameter ; then with a pencil mark it 
like Fig. A. With your paints and pen- 
cil make its 

head as nearly 

like a snake's 

as possible ; 

and mark the 

body with 

stripes or 

checks, as your 

fancy may 

dictate. Cut 
through the deep black line, put a pin 
through the dot on the tail, and drive it 
into a slender stick of wood, which must 
be held or caught over the stove or regis- 
ter. The rising current of heated air 
causes the snake to revolve and apparently writhe, in a 
very natural manner. This little toy, so simple in its con- 





14 THE DIVIDED SQUARE PUZZLE. 

struction, affords an endless amount of entertainment to 
the little folks of the family, and is well worth the trouble 
and time you may spend in making it. 

The hot air from a lamp or gas jet will also impart 
activity to this mimic reptile. 




THE DIVIDED 
SQUARE PUZZLE. 

Take a square of 
paper or cardboard, 
and cut it into four 
pieces, as shown in 
the engraving. Now 
try to put them back 
in the form of a 
square. This seem- 
ingly simple puzzle, 
has kept our young 
people busy a whole 
evening, and was 
only accomplished 
at last by marking 
each piece before it 
was cut apart. 



THE GRIMACING FACE. 



15 



EXPERIMENT WITH TWO PIECES OF GLASS. 

Procure two pieces of glass about six inches square, 
join any two of their sides, and separate the opposite sides 
with a piece of wax, so that their surfaces may be at a 
slight angle ; immerse this apparatus about an inch in a 
basin of water, and the water will rise between the plates 
and form a beautiful geometrical figure called a hyperbola. 



THE GRIMACING FACE. 

Take a card one-and-one-half inches wide, and fold 
around it a piece of unruled note paper, 
so that the card can easily slide up and 
down ; then paste this case on the under 
side. Now cut three holes in the paper 
for the eyes and mouth, 
as seen in A; place the 
strip of card within this 
and mark the points for 
the eyes and root of 
tongue ; then slipping it 
out once more, the eyes 
can be carefully finished, 
and the tongue cut to fit 
in the mouth, and to ex- 
tend some distance down 
on the chin, see Fig. B. 
Then by putting the two pieces together, 
pulling the tongue in its place through 
the opening, very amusing expressions 





16 A GOOD BALL. 

can be produced, by simply moving the pasteboard up 
and down in the paper. Fig. C represents the two parts 
put together. 

A GOOD BALL. 

Take a round, well shaped orange ; cut it evenly into 
quarters, numbering them at one end to aid in putting 
the parts together again. Next cut out of kid four pieces 
exactly like the four pieces of orange peel ; then, with 
strong linen thread, sew over and over three seams, thus 
joining the four pieces, but leaving one seam open. In 
putting together be careful to place 1 next to 2, and so 
on, just as they were in the orange. Ravel out an old yarn 
stocking, or cut into narrow strips an old cashmere one, and 
after making a little round ball of any soft woolen ma- 
terial, commence winding it evenly with the raveled yarn, 
trying occasionally if it is near the size of the kid cover- 
ing. When nearly large enough wind it in such a way that 
it shall just fit the cavity, and then carefully sew up the 
remaining side. 

Great care should be exercised in forming the inner 
ball, and in cutting the kid. The wrists of old kid gloves 
make capital coverings. An old rubber overshoe cut in 
very fine strips and wound carefully, forms a nice center, 
but it is better to use the soft wool yarn next the cover, 
as it is more pliable and makes a better shaped ball. 

Prepare this ball during your leisure moments in the 
long winter evenings ; and it will then be ready for the 
first game, when the bright spring sunshine reminds you 
of summer sports once more. 



AMUSING EXPERIMENT WITH TOOTHPICKS. 



17 



AMUSING EXPERIMENT WITH TOOTH-PICKS. 

Take five tooth-picks, weave them together, as seen in 
the illustration, which perhaps is easiest done by holding 
the three diverging ones between the thumb and fore- 
finger of the left hand at the point a, and insert the other 




two successively, first 5, then c. Now lay the figure upon 
any flat surface, letting the end c extend a short distance 
beyond the edge. If you touch a lighted match to c, in a 
moment each stick will leap into the air as if suddenly 
endowed with life and animation, quite unusual in such 
inert objects. 



18 A BOY'S BAROMETER. 

HOW TO CUT TOPS FROM GLASS BOTTLES. 

A glass bottle when freed from its top can be utilized in 
many ways, and most boys will be glad to know how to 
get rid of this troublesome portion without smashing the 
whole thing into fragments. 

A red-hot poker with a pointed end is the instrument 
used. First make a mark with a file to begin the cut ; 
then apply the hot iron, and a crack will start, which will 
follow the iron wherever it is carried. This is, on the 
whole, simple, and better than the use of strings wet with 
turpentine, etc. 



A BOY'S BAROMETER. 

Take a common vial, or small bottle, cut off the rim 
by using the hot poker as directed above. Let the vial 
now be nearly filled with common rain water, and apply- 
ing the finger to its mouth, turn it quickly upside down : 
on removing the finger it will be found that only a few 
drops will escape. Without a cork or stopper of any 
kind, the water will be retained within the bottle by the 
pressure of the external air, the weight of the air without 
the vial being so much greater than the small quantity 
within it. Now let a bit of tape be tied round the middle 
of the bottle, to which the two ends of a string may be 
attached, so as to form a loop to hang on a nail ; let it 
be thus suspended in a perpendicular manner, with the 
mouth downward : and this is the barometer. 

When the weather is fair, or inclined to be so, the 



AN INFALLIBLE BAROMETER. 19 

water will be level at its lower surface, or perhaps con- 
cave, like an individual butter plate turned upside down ; 
but when disposed to be stormy, a drop will appear at the 
mouth, which will enlarge till it falls, and then another 
drop, so long as the humidity of the atmosphere continues. 



AN INFALLIBLE BAROMETER. 

With a few cents any boy can buy the chemicals re- 
quired for this barometer, and obtain an instrument much 
more reliable than many of the cheaper grades for sale in 
the stores. Put two drams of pure nitrate of potash, and 
half a dram of chloride of ammonium reduced to a powder, 
into two ounces of pure alcohol, and place this mixture in 
a clear glass bottle, covering the top with a piece of rub- 
ber or thin kid pierced with small holes. 

If the weather is to be fine, the solid matters remain at 
the bottom of the bottle, and the alcohol is as transparent 
as usual. If rain is to fall in a short time, some of the 
solid particles rise and fall in the alcohol, which becomes 
somewhat thick and troubled. When a storm, tempest, 
or even a squall is about to come on, all the solid matter 
rises from the bottom of the bottle and forms a crust on 
the surface of the alcohol which appears to be in a state 
of fermentation. These appearances take place twenty- 
four hours before the tempest ensues, and the point of the 
horizon from which it is to blow is indicated by the par- 
ticles gathering most on the side of the tube opposite to 
that part whence the wind is to come. The longer the 
diameter of the bottle the better for this kind of barometer. 



20 



THE BOOMERANG. 



THE BALANCING DOLL. 

From a piece of soft wood whittle out a head and body- 
like that in the illustration, making slits on either side 

for the insertion of the 
wings. These oar- 
shaped appendages are 
generally made from a 
shingle, and are affixed 
to the body by press- 
ing them firmly into 
the slits. The whole 
thing can be painted to 
suit the fancy ; water 
colors spread on rather 
thickly answer quite as 
well for small objects of 
this class, if protected 
by a good coating of 
varnish, made by dis- 
solving a few cents' worth of white shellac in a small 
quantity of alcohol. It is important that the oars are of 
the same weight and placed at equal angles with the body 
for this plaything to be successful. 




THE BOOMERANG. 

The boomerang is a weapon which has long been known 
as peculiar to the Australian savages, who are wonder- 
fully skilled in its use. 



THE BOOMERANG. 



21 




It consists of an irregular shaped piece of hard wood, 

so constructed that by its 

aid, the unsuspectinggame 

can be killed at an angle 

widely diverging from the 

line of direction in which / j 

it was thrown. Instances / / 

have been cited in which / / 

the boomerang, in the V C 

hands of these untutored \ \^ 

savages, has accomplished \ ^v 

wonderfulfeats. Oneof the \. J | 

favorite ways of throwing 

consists in sending the weapon in such a manner that it 

shall skim along just above the ground for about a hundred 

feet, then, rising in the air, 
double back upon its course, 
and hit a mark only a few 
feet in front of the thrower. 
Of course we do not expect 
to equal the savages in its 
use, when recent investiga- 
tions show that it has taken 
the experience of genera- 
tions upon generations of 
men and hundreds of years, 
to bring it to its present 
degree of excellence; but 
every boy may derive much 

fun from practicing with the little cardboard boomerang 




22 



THE MAGIC TELE8G0PE. 



cut of stiff pasteboard in either of the forms given in the 
preceding page. To throw this, place it upon a book, one 
end extending beyond the edge ; then, with a ruler or 
small stick, strike it forcibly upon the edge, and it will 
fly through the air and back again, in an amusing, lively 
manner, quite unlike any other missile in a boy's collec- 
tion. It may be sent on its way by simply snapping it 
with the forefinger of the right hand while it is held on 
the book in your left. If you should try making one of 
wood to use out-of-doors, try it in the middle of a large 
open lot, for there is no telling what mischief it might do 
if it only had the chance. 



THE MAGIC TELESCOPE. 

The following, although requiring considerable skill in 
joining, can readily be made by any boy of fifteen, if he 




is at all skillful in the use of carpenter's tools, and has a 
fair endowment of those two excellent qualities, patience 



THE MAGIC TELESCOPE. 23 

and perseverance, so absolutely indispensable to success 
in almost any undertaking. 

This telescope consists of a series of square wooden 
tubes, with an inside diameter of about five inches, so 
carefully joined together that no ray of light can find its 
way in through the crevices. The oblique lines are 
pieces of looking-glass, with their faces turned toward 
each other. Now, by placing the eye at E, of course it 
would seem that anything at H could be seen directly 
through the tubes A B, while if a book or other opaque 
object be interposed, as shown in Fig. 2, it would seem 
equally a matter of course that the view would be ob- 
structed ; this, however, is not the case, as the mirrors 
reflect the object A g 

through the tube and ^^\ _\ j/ ] ^ 

it appears as plainly 
as when the book is 
removed. 

To those unfamiliar with its construction this magic 
telescope, by which you apparently see through a solid 
substance, is an unfailing source of wonder. 

The object at H should be quite brilliantly lighted, as 
some of the rays are absorbed in the passage of the reflec- 
tion through the tube ; especial care should also be taken 
to place the mirrors at a slant, exactly midway between 
the horizontal and the upright, or, to speak more scientific- 
ally, at an angle of 45 degrees to the line of the tubes. 

The tubes A and B should not be so far apart at the 
place where the book is inserted as to permit the backs of 
the mirrors to be easily seen. 





\ 


\*M 







L. \/ 








\ / 





24 TO CRYSTALLIZE GRASSES, SEED-VESSELS, ETC. 

TO CRYSTALLIZE GRASSES, SEED-VESSELS, Etc. 

Take a large-sized piece of alum, and pour over it a pint 
of boiling water, letting it stand until the water has taken 
up or dissolved all the alum it will. If at the end of a 
few hours any alum remains undissolved, you may be 
sure the water contains all the alum it can hold in a liquid 
state, and the solution is called a " saturated solution of 
alum." 

During the summer, while the grasses are in their most 
perfect state, select such as you think will look well crys- 
tallized, and put them into a vase or wide-mouthed bottle 
to dry, being careful to spread them well apart, so that 
they may retain their perfect shape in drying. If the 
season of grasses should pass before you have a chance to 
collect them, the season of weeds is always at hand. Any 
boy, in his wanderings over marsh or mountain, through 
woods or our quiet village street, during even the coldest 
winter months, could not fail to see some beautiful sprays 
of seed-pods crowning many of our most common weeds, 
which if crystallized, would make a very pretty and ac- 
ceptable present to mother for the corner bracket, or the 
shelf which seemed just a little bare before. Having se- 
cured your grasses or weeds, both together if you like, 
and having your saturated solution of alum at hand, lay 
as many tops of the grasses in a flat dish as will fill it 
without crowding, then pour the liquid over them, being 
careful that the parts you wish crystallized are under the 
surface. Let them lie in this position until well coated 
with the alum. When finished remove them and put in 



METHOD OF COLORING ALUM CBTSTALS. 25 

others. Continue in this manner until all are treated. If 
only a few crystals are desired they may be obtained by 
dipping the heads one at a time in the solution and 
slightly shaking them after each immersion. When all 
have been dipped, commence with the first and repeat the 
process. Do this until the crystals formed are as large 
as you wish them to be. 



METHOD OF COLORING ALUM CRYSTALS. 

In making these crystals the coloring should be added 
to the solution of alum in proportion to the shade which 
it is desired to produce. Coke, with a piece of lead at- 
tached to it in order to make it sink in the solution, is a 
good substance for a nucleus, if a cluster of crystals are 
to be formed. Any form, if wound around with knitting 
cotton, can be used, or the grasses above described can be 
dipped in these colored solutions, and very pretty re- 
sults obtained. 

Yellow : muriate of iron. Blue : solution of indigo in 
sulphuric acid. Pale blue : equal parts of alum and blue 
vitriol. Crimson : infusion of madder and cochineal. 
Black : Japan ink thickened with gum. Green : equal 
parts of alum and blue vitriol, with a few drops of sul- 
phate of iron. Milk white : a crystal of alum held over a 
glass containing ammonia will become a milky white color 
upon its surface. 

[Note. — To make an infusion of a substance you simply pour boiling water 
over it. The madder and cochineal are in the dry form, and only a little 
water should be used, as too much will make the color less brilliant.] 



26 A PRETTY ORNAMENT FOR A BOY TO MAKE. 

ANIMATED FIRE. 

When small pieces of camphor are placed in a basin of 
pure water, a very peculiar motion commences ; some of 
the pieces turn as if on an axis, others go steadily round 
the vessel, some seem to be pursuing others, and thus 
they continue forming a very curious and pleasing appear- 
ance ; but if a single drop of sulphuric acid be put into the 
water, the motion of the camphor instantly stops. If a 
piece of camphor be lighted, and then carefully placed 
on the water, it burns with a bright flame, moving about 
with great rapidity, as if in search of something, but is 
instantly stopped by a drop of sulphuric acid. 



A PRETTY ORNAMENT FOR A BOY TO MAKE. 

Dissolve in seven different tumblers containing warm 
water, half ounces of sulphates of iron, copper, zinc, soda, 
alumina, magnesia, and potash. Pour them all, when 
completely dissolved, into a large flat dish, and stir the 
whole with a glass rod or bit of broken glass for a while. 
Place the dish in a warm place where it will be free from 
dust and will not be shaken. After due evaporation has 
taken place, the whole will begin to shoot out into crys- 
tals. These will be of various colors and forms, some little 
ones being gathered together in small groups, and other 
larger ones scattered throughout the whole fluid. By a 
little careful study you will soon be able to distinguish 
each crystal separately, from its peculiar form and color, 



ROW TO BLOW GLASS. 27 

thus learning an interesting lesson in chemistry, while 
making a beautiful ornament for your room. Be sure and 
preserve it carefully from the dust. 



HOW TO MAKE A BLOWPIPE. 

Procure two common clay pipes ; break off the stem of 
one about three inches from the little end. Take a cork 
that exactly fits into the bowl of the other pipe, cut a hole 
through it large enough to insert the mouth-piece already 
broken off, and draw this through the opening till its 
larger end is even with the surface of the cork. Insert 
the cork in the bowl, and fill the end of the stem which 
touches the flame with a tiny ball of clay or chalk. 
Through this clay make a hole with a needle, and a blow- 
pipe is the result, which answers very well for any experi- 
ment a boy may be likely to try. 



HOW TO BLOW GLASS. 

Although it is impossible to give any detailed account 
of glass blowing which would be practicable for small 
boys, yet a child can amuse himself for hours, by simply 
melting bits of glass and joining them together ; or by 
melting small glass tubes and drawing them out to mere 
threads ; or again, blowing them up into tiny balloons 
until their surface is as thin as a soap bubble and almost 
as fragile. These little tubes are smaller than the end of 



28 A SIPHOW. 

a pipe-stem, about four inches long, and made of very 
thin glass. A dozen can be procured for ten or twelve 
cents at any place where chemical supplies are to be 
found. A short tallow candle, held in a cheap tin candle- 
stick, answers for the flame ; and the tobacco-pipe, con- 
verted into the blowpipe just described, can be used in 
any of the experiments here given. Take a piece of a 
broken window pane, hold it in the left hand very near 
the candle flame, then holding the blowpipe so that the 
shorter end nearly touches the flame, blow steadily 
through the pipe-stem a current of air into the flame, 
which sends it upon the glass and soon reduces the part 
in contact with it to a red-hot melting mass ; this can be 
worked into various shapes by forming it with the aid of 
pincers ; or it can easily be joined to pieces of different 
colors, by holding the two together and turning the full 
force of the blaze upon them. 

The little tubes may be heated in the same manner, and 
one end be closed air tight, by pinching it tightly while 
still hot ; then, after heating the portion near the end to 
a red heat, lay the blowpipe aside, and, taking the tube 
away from the flame, blow into the open end with the 
mouth. If this is done quickly, before the glass has had 
time to cool, a pretty bubble or balloon is the result. 



A SIPHON. 

A simple glass siphon can be made by taking one of the 
above tubes and heating it at a point about one-third of 
its length from the end, till the surface appears a rosy 




^^; 



A SOAP BUBBLE. 31 

red ; then carefully bending it over the round part of a 
clothes-pin, till the two ends form parallel lines. 

A simple experiment with the siphon affords consider- 
able amusement to the little folks, and is well worth try- 
ing. Take two tumblers, place them side by side, and fill 
one with water. Now fill the siphon with water and 
place the longer end in the empty tumbler, and the 
shorter one well down in the water of the other. Imme- 
diately the laborer will begin to work, pumping water 
into the empty vessel, and will not stop until he has re- 
duced the water in the full tumbler to a level with the 
end of the tube. 



TO MELT STONES. 
Many kinds of stones containing more or less metallic 
ores, can be readily melted by means of the blowpipe. 
When the specimens are small they can be placed upon a 
piece of mica, and then presented to the flame ; or a clay 
receptacle can be made for the purpose, by simply hol- 
lowing out a small cavity in one side of a lump of clay. 
Large ones can be held in the hand or with the pincers 
as in the case of the glass melting. 



A SOAP BUBBLE. 

Within the past few years soap-bubble parties have 
been quite the style among our young people, and not a 
few of the older members of society have joined in the 
frolic with as much zest as their younger competitors. 



32 BESIN BUBBLES. 

Usually at such gatherings, after the guests have all ar- 
rived, the hostess, having previously secured two or three 
boxes of bonbons, or other equally inexpensive trifles for 
prizes, presents each of her guests with an ordinary clay 
pipe, and leading the way to the room in which the bowls 
of soap-suds are already prepared, shows her prizes, and 
challenges all to the contest. If fine, large iridescent bub- 
bles are desired, it is well to add a small quantity of glyc- 
erine to the water used. It is said that if the mixture of 
glycerine and water is allowed to stand some hours before 
it is used the effect is much better. Hot water and soap 
can be added just before the party enter, and only two 
bowls of the soap mixture are necessary for quite a large 
party. These should be placed upon small side tables or 
stands at opposite ends of the room. Two or three reli- 
able persons should be chosen for judges to decide the 
contest. The parents or some older members of the family, 
at whose house the party is held, usually perform this 
duty. I should have added, when speaking of the soap 
mixture, that the common yellow soap intended for laun- 
dry use, is much better for this purpose than the finer 
toilet varieties most commonly used by amateur soap- 
bubble blowers. 



RESIN BUBBLES. 

If the end of a tobacco-pipe be dipped in melted resin, 
at a temperature a little above that of boiling water, taken 
out, and held nearly in a vertical position and blown 
through, bubbles will be formed of all possible sizes, from 
that of a hen' s egg, down to sizes which can hardly be 



THE THREE MAGICAL CARDS. 



33 



discerned by the naked eye, and from their silvery luster, 
and reflection of the different rays of light, they have a 
pleasing appearance. Some that have been formed these 
eight months, are as perfect as when first made. They 
generally assume the form of a string of beads, many of 
them perfectly regular, and connected by a very fine fiber, 
but the production is never twice alike. If expanded over 
a gas jet by means of a small rubber tube, they would 
probably float around the upper part of the room. 



THE THREE MAGICAL CARDS. 
Take three cards of the same size, and thick enough to 




prevent the black surface from showing through ; ink or 

paint over the whole of 
one side of c, having the 
other side perfectly white, 
and the others, a and &, in 
the parts shown in Fig. 1 ; 
they are now ready for use. 
Fig. 2 shows the first ar- 
rangement of them, a and 

b ]apping over each other so that when c is placed in the 




34 THE THREE MAGICAL CARDS. 

position shown by dotted lines the whole face presents a 
perfectly white surface. Show this to your audience ; 
then, still holding them in sight, inform them in a neat 
little speech, that by aid of some magic power you possess, 
you can readily change these same cards to black, or back 
again, at will. Now holding them with their backs away 
from you, in such a manner that the card c cannot be seen 
by the other boys, turn them upside down and spread out 
what were the lower parts of a and b. You have them 

now in the position indicated 
by Fig. 3, and after carefully 
turning c you will find them 
presenting a uniformly black 
surface. Should any bit of 
white show at the lower cor- 
ner, cover it with your 
thumb. When they are ar- 
ranged to your satisfaction, hold them up in front of you, 
and while saying over some cabalistic words, such as, for 
instance, " Presto, agramento, calafesto — change!" blow 
upon their faces and turn them around to your audience, 
which will probably be greatly surprised at this undenia- 
ble evidence of your magic skill. 

Instead of white, the ordinary playing cards may be 
used, blacking the back of one to represent c. These are 
much more showy than the plain white ones, and the trick 
is not so easily discovered if slight bits of black are seen, 
as those having black spots are generally taken for the 
purpose. 

One day a little fellow who had been repeatedly mysti- 




TO TELL THE NUMBER THOUGHT OF BY A PERSON. 37 

fied by this trick, saw the cards which his brother had 
preparedly ing on the table. He took them up, examined 
them carefully for a moment, then, with his little face all 
aglow at the revelation, he exclaimed, "Ha! I've found 
out how you do it now, you just blow charcoal on the 
other park." How he got rid of the part already black, 
he did not explain, nor did we think to ask him, but he 
had at last solved the puzzle of their turning black, and 
that was all he cared to do at the time. 



AN OPTICAL GAME. 

Hold a ring between thumb and forefinger at some dis- 
tance from the boy addressed, and giving him a crooked 
stick, ask him to close one eye and try to catch the ring 
on the stick. This game looks so very simple, that any 
boy is certain he can do it at one thrust, and is only made 
aware of its difficulties after several unsuccessful attempts. 



TO TELL THE NUMBER THOUGHT OF BY A 
PERSON. 

Desire the person who has thought of a number to triple 
it, and to take the exact half of that ; triple that half if 
the number was even, or if odd multiply the larger half 
by 3 ; and ask him how many times that answer contains 
nine : for the answer will contain the double of that num- 
ber of nines, and one more if it be odd. Thus if the num- 
ber thought of is 5, its triple will be 15, which cannot be 



38 



TEE COUNTER PUZZLE. 



divided by 2 without a remainder. The greater half of 
15 is 8. If we multiply this by 3 we have 24, which con- 
tains 9 twice. So we shall have 2 + 2 + 1 = 5, the num- 
ber first thought of. 



THE COUNTER PUZZLE. 

In an old book published over half a century ago, I 
came across this puzzle ; and finding it gave an evening's 
entertainment to our young folks, I introduce it here for 
the benefit of those boys who take especial delight in 
games of an arithmetical nature. 

Out of thin cardboard — old business cards answer this 
purpose nicely — make thirty-two blank counters, the size 
of a dime. Then upon a piece of note-paper mark off a 
figure just three inches square, and divide it by Hnes into 
nine compartments, each containing one square inch. 
The puzzle is, to arrange the counters in the external cells 
of the square four different times, and each time to have 
nine in a row, yet to have the sum of the counters differ- 
ent, and varying from twenty to thirty-two. If you will 
inspect the following figures you will see how this is pos- 

Fi 9' 1 2 3 



3 


3 


3 




4 


1 


4 




Z 


5 


Z 


3 




3 


I 




I 


5 




5 


3 


3 


3 


4 


I 


4 


Z 


5 


Z 



sible : the first represents the original disposition of the 



ANOTHER ARITHMETICAL TRICK. 



39 



counters ii\ the cells of the square ; the second, that of the 
same counters when four are taken away ; the third, the 
manner in which they must be disposed 
when these four are brought back with 
four others ; and the fourth with the ad- 
dition of four more. There are always 
nine in each external row, and yet in the 
first case the whole number is twenty- 
four, in the second it is twenty, in the 

5 third twenty-eight, and in the fourth 

thirty- two. The numbers are substituted 
in the place of the counters in the above 
figures for convenience, but Fig. 5 rep- 
resents the disposition of the counters, as 
indicated in Fig. 2. 



1 


7 


i 


7 




7 


1 


r 


1 



oo o 

o : o 



ANOTHER AEITHMETICAL TRICK. 

By knowing the last figure of the product of any two 
numbers, to tell the other figures. If the number seven- 
ty-three be multiplied by each of the numbers in the fol- 
lowing arithmetical progression, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 
27, the products will terminate with the nine digits, in 
this order, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ; the numbers themselves 
being as follows : 219, 438, 657, 876, 1095, 1314, 1533, 1752, 
and 1971. Let, therefore, a little bag be provided, consist- 
ing of two partitions, into one of which put several tickets, 
marked with the number 73, and into the other put as 
many tickets, 3, 6, 9, etc., up to 27. Then open that part 



40 TO 1ELL TWO OR MORE NUMBERS THOUGHT OF. 

of the bag containing the number 73, and ask a person to 
take out one ticket only ; after which, dexterously change 
the opening, and desire another person to take a ticket 
from the other part. Let them now multiply their two 
numbers together, and tell you the last figure of the prod- 
uct, by which you will readily determine from the fore- 
going series what the remaining figures must be. Sup- 
pose, for example, the numbers taken out of the bag were 
73 and 12, then as the product of these two numbers, 
which is 876, has 6 for its last figure, you will readily 
know it is the fourth of the series and the other two fig- 
ures must be 8 and 7. 



TO TELL TWO OR MORE NUMBERS WHICH A 
PERSON HAS THOUGHT OF. 

These numbers must not exceed 9. Let him think 
of two or three numbers, double the first and add 1 to the 
product, multiply the whole by 5, and add to that prod- 
uct the second number. If there be a third, make him 
double the first sum and add 1 to it ; then desire him to 
multiply the new sum by 5, and to add to it the third 
number. If there should be a fourth number, you must 
proceed in the same manner, desiring him to double the 
preceding sum, to add 1 to it, to multiply by 5, and 
then to add the fourth number, and so on. Then ask the 
number arising from the addition of the last number 
thought of, and if there were two numbers subtract 5 
from it : if three, 55 ; if four, 555, and so on, for the re- 



AN EASY PROOF FOB SUMS IN MULTIPLICATION. 41 
\ 

mainder will be composed of figures, of which the first on 
the left will be the first number thought of, the next the 
second, and so of the rest. 

Suppose the numbers thought of to be 3, 4, 6 ; by add- 
ing 1 to 6, the double of the first, we have 7, which being 
multiplied by 5 gives 35 ; if 4, the second number thought 
of, be then added, we shall have 39, which doubled gives 
78, and if we add 1, and multiply 79 by 5, the result will 
be 395. Lastly, if we add 6, the third number thought 
of, the sum will be 401, and if 55 be deducted from it we 
shall have for the remainder 346, the figures of which 3, 
4, and 6, indicate in order the three numbers thought of. 



AN EASY PROOF FOR SUMS IN MULTIPLICATION. 

As boys are always interested in short cuts in arith- 
metical processes, it may be well to insert for the benefit 
of those who are studying multiplication, a method of 
proving their examples which I learned a short time ago 
from an old banker of New York. This rule is simply to 
add the digits of both multiplicand and multiplier, divide 
both answers by 9, and multiply the remainders ; divide 
this product by 9 and the remainder will be, if the ex- 
ample is correct, the same as that obtained by adding the 
digits of the product and dividing that answer by 9. For 
instance, suppose after multiplying 4359 by 2786 we have 
12144174 for the answer ; now instead of performing this 
operation over a second time to make sure our answer is 
correct, we simply add the digits in 4359 and divide the 



42 THE SELF-RECTIFYING DART. 

sum 21 by 9, we find we have 3 left. As it is the only re- 
mainder we have to deal with, we need not keep the other 
figures. By adding the digits in the multiplier we obtain 
23, which divided by 9 gives 2 and 5 remainder. Now, 
multiplying the first remainder by the second we have 15 : 
this product divided by 9 gives 1 and 6 remainder. If the 
product 12144174 is correct, the sum of its digits divided 
by 9 will leave 6 for a remainder. Performing the opera- 
tion, we find the sum of its digits is 24, divided by 9 
equals 2 and 6 remainder. As both the remainders cor- 
respond, the answer was correct. After a little practice 
you will find you can prove your examples very quickly 
by this method, and where a number of sums are given 
without the answers it will be of invaluable assistance, 
besides saving you a great amount of labor. 



THE SELF-RECTIFYING DART. 

The dart, and its larger brother the javelin, were among 
the earliest weapons used in warfare, and were very skil- 
fully thrown, not only by the Roman soldiers, but by the 
Goths and other savage tribes who lived in the regions 
north of them. 

These javelins were large affairs, measuring some six or 
seven feet in length ; the handle, a tough piece of wood, 
was generally four and one-half feet in length, and an 
inch in diameter, while the rest of the length was taken 
up by the barbed triangular-shaped head. 

Ever since those days children of all nations and climes 



X 



THE SELF-RECTIFYING DART. 



40 




have made toy implements, resembling those in general 
appearance, but varying much in size and materials used. 

The little dart described below is perhaps 
the tiniest and least formidable of them all ; 
but even this should not be carelessly tossed 
about the room in which others are playing ; 
when, however, thrown in the open air, and 
away from others who might be hurt, there 
is considerable amusement derived from the 
airy bit of flying wood, which always comes 
down with such unerring certainty upon its 
spear-like head. To make this dart, take half 
a sheet of note-paper, double it diagonally 
across, so that its top edge may fall evenly 
upon that of one side (see Fig. 1), and cut off 
the surplus piece of paper which remains un- 
covered at the bottom of the page. Open 
your square, and fold it again in the other diagonal line 
c, d (the first is represented on Fig. 2, as a, b). Now, 

opening again, fold upon the line 
e, f, then, after opening, upon g, 
Ji. Crease all the folds as you 
make them. Now, having pre- 
pared your handle, which con- 
sists of a piece of wood about 8 
inches long and the size of a lead 
pencil, cut across one end at right angles, with slits nearly 
or quite an inch in depth ; take your paper and open it 
flat once more. Fold the diagonals so that the four 
points, a, b, c, d, shall all meet together above x, and the 




44 



THE BALANCING PIN. 



9 






Fia> Z 



a 



lines ax, bx, ex, and dx shall meet at the central line of 
the figure, and the four shorter lines, ex,fx, etc., form the 
outside edges of the figure. Insert a 
tiny wedge or knife-blade at the bot- 
tom of the slits, and press the paper 
down in the opening, bringing the 
folded edges through each of the four 
-t slits ; remove the wedge, and the paper 
will be firmly held in its place. Insert 
1/ a needle or headless pin in the other 



end of the wood, and the dart is ready for use. 



THE BALANCING PIN. 

This amusing feat I first saw performed in our little dis- 
trict school-house, many years ago. 

One morning, while the 
teacher was busy with his 
class at the blackboard, 
one of the boys drew an 
old clay pipe-stem from 
his pocket, and produc- 
ing a small green goose- 
berry and a pin from some 
other part of his clothing, 
gave us boys to under- 
stand that he was about 
to perform some wonder- 
ful trick with them. We 
were of course all attention, and as the teacher's back re- 




%>2^ 



THE BALANCING PIN. 45 

mained turned toward us, "he proceeded to astonish us with 
his remarkable feat. He first stuck the pin through the 
gooseberry, and then let it fall, point downward, into one 
end of the pipe-stem ; then, placing the other end to his 
mouth, and holding his head thrown well over backward, 
he blew into the opening, and the gooseberry and pin arose 
quite clear of the tube, and began dancing and balancing 
above it in a very funny way. How long it would have con- 
tinued its gyrations I cannot tell, probably until his breath 
gave out, but just then a little boy in the front row made 
some exclamation, and straightway the teacher's head 
came around, the pipe-stem, pin, and gooseberry went on 
a voyage of discovery out of the school-house window, and 
the boy got a thrashing for his pains. But the feat was 
often performed by us all after that, and some years later, 
when a second generation of boys were having over again 
the tricks and sports their older brothers had outgrown, 
I saw the same principle applied under more favorable 
conditions. Instead of the straight pipe-stem, which 
necessitated throwing the head over backward, to insure 
its perpendicular position, a tube bent at a right angle 
near one end was used, and the balancing of the pin could 
be much more easily watched by the performer. Instead 
of the gooseberry, a currant, pea, or any light, round 
fruit can be substituted, and a small glass tube may take 
the place of the pipe-stem. 



46 A SET OF CARS. 

A BOX-SLED FOR BABY. 

Procure a deep, smooth soap-box, and decide how high 
you wish the back and front to be ; then take a piece of 
brown paper, the exact size of the sides of the box, and 
mark on it a curve, which shall unite the high back with 
the low front. After this has assumed a perfectly satis- 
factory form, cut it out and tack it on one side of the 
box. Mark the outline carefully on both side- pieces, and 
saw the boards as indicated by the line ; cut the front 
straight across, and rasp and sand-paper the edges till 
they are very smooth and well rounded. Next paint the 
box inside and out, excepting the bottom, which is to be 
fastened to the sled, with a thick coat of burnt umber, 
and give it a good drying. Then with light-blue paint, 
make a narrow band, one-fourth of an inch wide, entirely 
around each side, the back, and the front, about half an 
inch from the edge. Stencil a pretty design on the back, 
and the name of the little owner on each side ; let this 
thoroughly dry, and finish with two coats of varnish. A 
little seat can be fitted in the back part if desired, but a 
pillow answers the purpose much better. 



A SET OF CARS. 
Procure a stick of wood of any length, and an inch and 
a half square at the ends. Saw it into pieces six inches 



A SET OF GABS. 



47 



in length, being careful to cut it evenly, that the blocks 
may be rectangular in form. Round off the tops slightly 
at the edges and paint them brown, then give the sides 
and ends a good coating of yellow. 

If you have no oil paints, it would be a good investment 
to get a few tubes, as they are not expensive, and are of 
invaluable assistance in adding beauty and naturalness 
to many things a boy can make. For the cars, a tube of 
chrome yellow, one of Indian-red, and one of black would 



I 






be needed, but as those are not over seven or eight cents 
apiece the whole cost would be small. The windows can 
perhaps be most conveniently put on by " stencilling." 
To do this, cut a piece of stout paper or thin cardboard 
the exact size of the side of the car, and mark the win- 
dows on it in their proper places (see Fig. 2). Then cut 
out the windows thus drawn with the point of a sharp 
penknife. Catch the card firmly upon the surface by 



48 



THE TOT LOCOMOTIVE. 



driving two or three fine pins through it into the wood. 
Finally, with your brush moderately filled with the black 
paint, cover all the yellow surface exposed through the 
openings ; then remove the card very carefully and one 
side of yonr car will be complete. After painting the 
whole set, another long time will be needed for drying. 
During the meantime obtain a few screw-eyes and hooks, 
and, when perfectly dry, screw a hook into the left and an 
eye into the right end of each car, join them into a train, 
and you will find you have a strong set of cars with which 
your little brother can play to his satisfaction, without a 
fear of breaking. The locomotive is more difficult to 
make, but with a little care any boy of ten can be quite 
certain of success. 



THE TOY LOCOMOTIVE. 
The thin ends of a common soap-box afford very good 

Fi 3 l 




material for the base of this locomotive, while the end of 



THE TOY LOCOMOTIVE. 49 

a curtain-roller makes a capital boiler. The cab can be cut 
from a cigar-box, and a button-mold will do for the boiler- 
head. First cut from the thicker wood a base in shape 
like Fig. 1, and seven inches long by one and a half wide ; 




i 

with a jackknife bevel it on either side of the pointed end 
to correspond to the shape of the pilot, as shown in the 
cut. Saw the roller even at either end just four inches in 
length. Next cut from a solid block of wood a smoke- 
stack three inches high and an inch in diameter across 
the top. The cab is cut from the cigar-box wood, and 
consists of a front like «, two side-pieces 
like 5, and a top like that seen in Fig. 1 ; 
round off the edges of the top to give it 
a slightly convex surface like the tops of 
the cars. Now, with brads, fasten these 
three parts together. Then with a long, 
slender brass screw fasten the button-mold 
and smoke-stack on front of the boiler. 
The screw should have as large a head as it is possible to 
find, and should be long enough to extend half an inch 
or more into the round section of wood or boiler. Cover 




50 



THE TOT LOCOMOTIVE. 



the whole, excepting the cab, with two thick coats of 
black paint, being careful that the first is perfectly- 
dry before the second is put on. After the blackened 
surface is thoroughly dry and hard, put the red stripes 
on the pilot, as seen in the cut : and for the brass bands 
around the boiler use chrome yellow. The cab is painted 
Indian-red, and after this is perfectly dry, the windows 
are painted on with black, as in the cars. 



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The little ornamental lines on the cab are made with the 
yellow paint. A large round-headed brass screw driven 
through a low flat spool (such as is used for button-hole 
twist), into the top of the boiler in front of the cab, makes 
a good steam- chest and whistle, and adds the finishing 
touch to this indestructible little toy. If you anticipate 
making this train of cars for a Christmas present, begin it 
in time, as paint dries much more slowly in winter than 
in summer, and it is absolutely necessary that each coat 
be perfectly dry before the next is applied. Yarnishing 



A FREIGHT TRAIN. 51 

greatly improves the durability and appearance of the 
painted surface. Shellac dissolved in alcohol makes the 
best varnish for this kind of work. It should be made 
moderately thick, and if intended for light-colored work, 
white shellac should be used, as the dark leaves a slight 
stain upon the surface. I forgot to add in its proper 
place that a brass button, caught in on top by a stiff wire, 
is made co represent a bell. The wire should be first bent 
into the shape seen in the illustration ; the button then 
hung in position, and the wire finally driven into the holes 
made to receive it. 

The tender consists of a piece of wood the same width 
but only half the length of one of the cars, and one inch 
high. This is painted black with a narrow band of yel 
low running around the sides near the top, and is fas- 
tened to the locomotive and car by means of the screw-eye 
and hook. 



A FREIGHT TRAIN. 

The locomotive for this train can be made like the one 
already described, and the cars are cut from a rectangular 
stick, in the same manner as the passenger cars. These 
should receive a thick coat of Indian-red paint, and if this 
does not cover well, that is, if any of the wood shows 
through, another coat should be given. After the paint 



52 



A LOT OF PAPER WINDMILLS. 



is perfectly dry, put on one edge of the side, near the top, 
a number in white, and two or three letters in the same 
color, to represent the sides of the freight cars on differ- 
ent lines. If desired, the cars can be painted different 
colors, and the side decorations copied from the car you 
mean to represent. Give the whole a good varnishing 
with the shellac dissolved in alcohol, and allow plenty of 
time to elapse before the toy is used, for it to become 
perfectly dry and hard. 



A LOT OF PAPER WINDMILLS. 

Take a thin stick of wood a foot and a half or two feet 
long, and nail to it four cross-pieces, graduated in length 
and six or seven inches apart. The shorter, at the top, 
should measure about six inches. Cut out of stiff, colored 



k^ 




paper (the greater the variety the prettier the effect) fif- 
teen pieces, each three inches square, and slit each piece 
as indicated by the diagonal lines in the figure. Out of 
pretty tissue-paper cut three round pieces for each mill, 



A LOT OF PAPER WINDMILLS. 



53 



about the size of a silver dollar, and with a dull knife 
scrape their edges, that they may slightly curl like the 
petals of a rose ; crinkle them at the center if intended 
for a rose, or from the edge toward the center if for 
asters or marigolds, and thrust a large, strong pin through 
the middle of each disk, drawing the flower well down 
over the head ; then, bending the opposite corners of each 




square of paper so that they shall all rest over the central 
dot marked on each (Fig. 1), force the pin with the flower 
on its head, down through the five thicknesses of paper, 
driving it well into the wood of the frame. In doing this 
care should be taken to avoid creasing the curved edges 
of the windmills. They are placed upon the frame- work 
as indicated in the cut. 



54 A WINTER GARDEN. 

Very pretty windmills are often made of only two 
shades, common note-paper being used for the wheels, 
and a bright, rosy pink tissue-paper for the flowers. In- 
deed, those made of common brown wrapping-paper 
without any flowers at all give more satisfaction in a light 
wind than the more elaborate ones described above. 



A WINTER GARDEN. 

Most boys love flowers ; and many families, especially 
in the country, would keep more through the winter than 
they do, if they had the space and time to devote to them, 
necessary for their preservation. A number of pots, suf- 
ficiently large to hold good-sized plants, take up consid- 
erable room ; and no little time is required each day, to 
keep the pots clean and the plants well watered. Now, 
boys, I have a suggestion to make, which I intend for 
your ears alone. Why can' t you make a winter garden, 
and, if necessary, take care of it through the season ? It 
will amply repay you for your labor, and do much toward 
brightening the home life through the long dreary months, 
when everything without is covered with ice and snow. 

First procure a soap-box, the best and tightest you can 
find : if any cracks are too wide to be easily closed with 
putty, nail laths over them on the inside, line their edges, 
and, in fact, stop every seam and crevice with good thick 



A WINTER GARDEN. 55 

layers of putty. Next paint over the entire inside with 
any colored pigment you may have, as it does not show 
when the box is filled with earth, but simply aids in 
making it water-tight. 

Now take four strong pieces of wood, about two and a 
half feet long ; smooth them well and sand-paper ; be sure 
both ends are cut oif evenly, and that each leg is the same 
length as the other three, and, finally, nail them firmly to 
the four corners of the box, letting the tops come in line 
with its upper edge, and give the whole thing two good coats 
of Indian-red. A very pretty stand is made by substitut- 
ing the straight trunks of young forest trees with their 
bark left on in place of the smooth, painted legs ; bore 
holes in the bottom of the legs and insert casters, and fin- 
ish by giving the entire outer surface a thick coating of 
varnish. Then get a good wheelbarrow-load of fine leaf- 
mold, about half that quantity of sand, and some com- 
mon garden soil. Stir these well together, and fill the box 
half full with the mixture, first covering the bottom with 
pebbles, to secure drainage. Before this, however, bore a 
hole with a good-sized gimlet in the bottom of the box, and 
fit a soft pine peg to close it from the under side. When 
the plants are watered this peg can be removed, and a dish 
placed beneath the opening to catch the surplus water. 

You are now ready for the plants. I find almost any 
garden plants thrive well in this box, so any favorites you 



56 A WINTER GARDEN. 

may have will soon make themselves at home in these new 
quarters. It is well to pnt vines around the edge, as they 
fall over, and their glossy green leaves and stems form an 
agreeable contrast to the dark-red background of the box 
itself. In my present winter garden I have German and 
Cenilworth ivy, partridge-berry, and the common inch-plant 
for vines. In the center is a large salvia, taken up so care- 
fully that the great ball of dirt was not shaken from its roots. 
On one side is a calla lily, and on the other a feverfew of 
the large double variety. At the ends are fuchsias and 
heliotrope, and scattered over the other available spots are 
verbenas and petunias, sweet peas and lobelia ; one or two 
fish-geraniums of bright colors also found a place, and a 
little wood-violet nestled in one corner has bloomed since 
early spring. A beautiful large purple pansy, too, has 
been blooming all winter in another corner of the box. 

Over this garden are two hanging-pots, one filled with 
pink oxalis, and the other with a Chinese pink ; both 
have contributed their full share of blossoms during the 
entire season, and neither seems to tire of well-doing. I 
must now tell you how to care for these beautiful pets, 
for they must receive some attention, which, however, is 
very small when compared with that required by their 
sisters in pots. First, always water them with warm 
water (almost as hot as you can bear your hand in), pour 
this around the roots in sufficient quantities to thoroughly 



THE BOOT PUZZLE. 57 

j 

moisten the soil. A good rule to be observed in watering 
your plants is to pour on the water until it begins to run 
out of the hole in the bottom of the box. With such 
thorough wetting down they will not need water oftener 
than twice a week, except when the sun is very hot, and 
the moisture evaporates quickly. A little carbonate of 
ammonia added to the water greatly improves their 
growth, and half-a-dozen grains of permanganate of 
potash added once a fortnight to the warm bath turns 
their foliage a rich dark green. With a whisk broom, 
sprinkle them once or twice a week with water which is 
also warm, but not as hot as that used on their roots ; this 
operation takes but little time, scarcely five minutes, and 
as the stand is on casters it can be easily moved to the 
middle of the room, and each side can then receive its full 
share of the washing. It is safe to predict that if any boy 
would make the stand, and supply it with rich soil, his 
mother or some one of his sisters would only be too 
happy to plant and care for the flowers it might hold. 



THE BOOT PUZZLE. 

First take a piece of paper, double it, and cut from it a 
pair of boots, the fold in the paper coming at the top of 
the boots, and consequently joining them together. Then 



58 



THE BOOT PUZZLE. 



take another piece, fold it and cnt it in the form of Fig. 
2, a being the folded end. Fold still another piece and 

CL 




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cut it like Fig. 3, b representing the folding side. Now 
open the smaller piece, as in Fig. 4, and push the point a 

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through the opening in its center (Fig. 5). Then put one 
boot through the loop of the long arm, c, between a and 



THE BOOT PUZZLE. 



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the smaller piece, which has been pushed forward as far 
as it will go (Fig. 6). Now pull the smaller piece down 
over a, and open the largest piece, and the boots are fas- 
tened on to the larger paper in such a way that it is rather 
hard for the uninitiated to extricate them. 

After they are fastened in place, with your finger-nail 
smooth out the creases made at <x, Fig. 5, as their appear- 



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ance might furnish a clue toward solving the mystery. 
It is best when cutting Fig. 2 to avoid the creasing if 
possible. 

When you pass them to your friends to take off, ex- 
plain that they are not to bend the boots. It is an excel- 
lent plan to make the last-named articles of cardboard, 
while the other parts are simply of note-paper. 



60 HO W TO BREAK A STRING. 

HOW TO TAKE PORTRAITS. 

The person whose portrait is to be taken must sit so 
that his shadow is thrown upon a sheet of cardboard or 
thick white paper placed against the wall. To obtain a 
sharp outline there should be a fixed distance between 
the lamp, wall, and sitter, which can easily be found by 
experiment. The sitter must keep perfectly still while 
the outline of the shadow is quickly traced upon the 
paper. A tumbler or roll of paper may be placed be- 
tween the head of the sitter and the wall, to aid in hold- 
ing the head quiet. The tracing is then cut out with a 
pair of scissors or a sharp penknife, and placed upon a 
dark cloth or paper. This is a very pleasing amusement for 
a cold winter's evening, and the results are often profile 
likenesses not only very striking but often wonderfully 
accurate. 



HOW TO BREAK A STRING. 

No boy feels himself perfectly at home if he has not 
one pocket at least full of strings, and a good sharp 
jackknife at his command. Although the jackknife often 
gets lost, the string is usually at hand, and most boys will 
probably be glad to learn how a good strong cord can be 
broken without injury to the hands. Take the cord and 



HOW TO BREAK A STRING. 



63 



pass it around the left hand, as shown in Fig. A, so as 
to form a cross or double loop over the palm. One end 




is then wound round the fingers, and the other seized 
in the right hand. Then, by closing both hands, and 




giving a very sharp, quick pull, the string will be broken 
at the cross in the left hand. 



64 A CORN-STALK FIDDLE. 

For those boys living in the country who have a musi- 
cal turn, but have never seen this little instrument, I 
write the following description of 

A CORN-STALK PIDDLE. 

Find a good straight corn-stalk, and with your jack- 
knife cut four slits from joint to joint, as seen in the 
upper figure. Then from a bit of wood cut a bridge, as 
shown just below. With the point of the knife lift the 



three strings and insert the bridge. Then carefully raise 
the bridge to its upright position, spread the strings until 
they rest in the grooves cut in the bridge for that pur- 
pose, and put a similar bridge at the other end. Make 
the bow in the same manner, of a smaller section of a 
stalk, and the instrument is complete. I have never heard 
a very decided tune played on this fiddle, but perhaps 
some of my readers may be able to get music from this 
simple little instrument. 



THE XYLOPHONE. 



65 




THE XYLOPHONE. 



The xylophone is an instrument of great antiquity, hav- 
ing been used in a slightly different form by both Greeks 
and Hebrews. It is now sometimes used in connection 
with other instruments in our larger orchestras, in which 
case, however, the bars are usually made of metal. Its 
construction is very simple, and any boy having a good 
ear for music can readily make one. 

The instrument is composed of strips of wood of various 
sizes, and thick enough to allow the passage of a stout 
piece of twine or fish-line, as seen in the illustration. The 
largest strips give the lowest notes. The first note of the 
scale may be a strip of any convenient size, and the suc- 
ceeding strips are tuned by carefully cutting away from 

3 



66 



THE XYLOPHONE. 



the under side until the desired tone is produced. They 
are strung upon cords, in the manner shown in Fig. 2, a 
knot being made on each side to keep the strip in place ; 
and finally, across the upper part of a box, in order to 
give sufficient resonance of sound. In putting these strips 
together, it is necessary to have the holes through which 




Fig>3 




Tij.Z 




they are strung at a slight angle, or in the direction of 
the slant which the strings take when fastened to the 
frame. 

The arrangement seen in Fig. 3 is perhaps best adapted 
to the usual form of a box, and affords a greater range of 



THE XYLOPHONE. 67 

notes. It would be well to letter the upper part of the 
bars with the name of the note they are intended to pro- 
duce, and the wood should be thoroughly seasoned from 
which these bars are made. 

It is well to have the lowest note not the first of the 
scale but a fifth below, and the highest three or four notes 
above the octave. This will give sufficient compass for 
any air you may care to play. 



A good ear for music is of the greatest importance to 
insure success in constructing an instrument of this 
description, and it would simply be a waste of time and 
patience for any boy not so blessed, to venture upon the 
undertaking. 

Little wooden mallets are sometimes used to play upon 
this xylophone, but the little drumsticks belonging to the 
common toy drum are better for the purpose. 



68 THE JEOLIAN HARP. 

Among the tribes of southern Africa an instrument of 
this class holds the chief place in their festivals, and is 
played upon with considerable skill by many of their 
native musicians. This piano, called by them "marim- 
ba," consists of two bars of wood placed side by side ; in 
the most southern portions quite straight, but farther 
north, bent round so as to resemble half the tire of a car- 
riage-wheel ; across these are placed about fifteen wooden 
keys, each of which is two or three inches broad, and 
fifteen or eighteen inches long, and their thickness, as in 
the case of the xylophone, is regulated according to the 
deepness of the note required. Each of the keys has a 
calabash beneath it ; from the upper part of each a por- 
tion is cut off to enable them to embrace the bars, and 
form hollow sounding-boards to the keys, which also are 
of different sizes, according to the note required ; and 
little drumsticks, like those spoken of above, elicit the 
music. Rapidity of execution seems much admired 
among them, and the music is pleasant to the ear. 

In Angola, the Portuguese use the marimba in their 
dances. 



THE iEOLIAN HARP. 
This simple little musical instrument derives its name 
from iEolus, god of the winds, who is said to have lived 



THE ^JOLIAN HARP. 69 

at Stromboli, then called Strongyle, while he reigned over 
the iEolian islands, just north of Sicily. His island was 
entirely surrounded by a wall of brass, and by perfectly 
smooth precipitous rocks. Here he dwelt in continual 
joy and festivity with his wife and children ; the latter, 
six sons and as many daughters, are said to be a poetic 
type of the twelve months of the year. And here he kept 
the winds, tied up in bags, in perfect subjection, only let- 




ting them out when called upon to do so by Neptune, god 
of the sea. As the winds served iEolus on his little isle, so 
we force them to serve us in our far-away western homes, 
by operating upon our instrument and making music to 
soothe and calm us when we are too tired or indolent to 
make it for ourselves. The simplest form this instrument 
can have is a single string of strong waxed silk, stretched 
between two bits of wood, inserted under the lower win- 
dow-sash, sufficient space being allowed between the win- 
dow-sill and the sash for the vibration of the string. 
The other and more satisfactory harp is made like that 



70 THE MOLIAN HARP. 

in the engraving, and is not so difficult an undertaking, 
that any boy who can handle carpenter's tools need fear 
to try it. Take two long strips of thin, soft pine wood, 
four and five inches wide respectively, and a little shorter 
than ths sash is wide, to allow for the length of the pegs 
at one end ; then from common seven-eighths of an inch 
board make two other pieces in shape like b, six 
inches wide, six high, on the narrower, and seven on the 
back or longer side. With a small gimlet make in both 
ends a row of eight or nine holes, at equal distances from 
each other, and half an inch from the edge of the slant- 
ing top, for the strings to pass through ; then with a 
larger gimlet bore in one end only, the second row of 
holes, 7i i, to hold the pegs upon which the ends of the 
strings are to be wound. Nail the parts together as in 
the cut, making the lower edges of the pieces meet at the 
bottom ; then from the outside of d e draw through as 
many pieces of violin string (the smallest or E string) as 
you have holes in your wood. Hold these by knots on 
the outside, and having brought them across the box 
pass them through the corresponding holes in the other 
end, and twist them around the pegs below, in the same 
manner that the strings are fastened in the violin itself. 
Unlike the violin, however, these should not be drawn too 
tight, simply stretched evenly across, and must all be 
tuned in unison. That is, having drawn one as tight as 



THE BOSTON CLAPPEB. 71 

you think best, draw the others, one at a time, till they 
give forth the same musical note when snapped with the 
linger. Now put another thin piece of board across the 
top which shall just cover it like the lid of a desk. This 
was purposely left out in the illustration, that the ar- 
rangement of the strings might be more fully seen, but is 
necessary in the complete instrument. If catgut cannot 
be readily obtained, strong pieces of sadlers' silk, well 
waxed, may be used in its place, although the tones re- 
sulting are not as musical, or the strains as soft and lull- 
ing in character, as those produced by the former. 

After the instrument is properly tuned, place it upon 
the ledge of an open window, and let the sash down upon 
it, when, if there is any breeze stirring, it will pour forth 
strains of sweet, drowsy music, beautifully described by 
the poet Thomson, as supplying the most suitable har- 
monies for the Castle of Indolence. 



THE BOSTON CLAPPER. 

Take a piece of soft wood, five or six inches long, and 
whittle out of one end a hollow box, open at the top and 
outer end, like that represented in the illustration. Cut 
a groove around the inside, near the top, for the cover to 
slide in. Make this cover of a very thin piece of tough 



72 



THE BOSTON CLAPPER. 



wood, and one- third as long as the opening, pushing 
it, when completed, well up against the inner end of 
the box ; see b, in the figure, for size and position of 
cover. 

The handle, f, is simply for convenience in holding the 
instrument. Pass a piece of strong string or fish-line 
twice around the box at the point d, and after drawing it 
as tightly as possible, tie it firmly on the under side. 

Out of hard, tough wood make a thin, slender tongue, 




c, and place this between the two strings at e. Now twist 
this tongue over and over, each time drawing out the 
longer end, to allow of the other sliding by the edge 
of the cover. At each revolution of c the string is 
twisted tighter around the box, and if the end of c is 
touched, the other end strikes with more force upon 
the cover b. 

When sufficiently tight, grasp the handle with your 
left hand, and having the point well over the cover, 
commence with the third finger of your right hand and 



PAPIER-MACHE. 73 

strike down on the end c with the fingers in their order, 
giving quick and repeated blows, like the successive taps 
of a drum. The music produced, if not strictly melodi- 
ous, is quite enchanting to the average American school- 
boy. 



PAPIER-MACHE. 



I have now come to one of the most fascinating and at 
the same time useful employments a boy can have ; one 
which not only 'affords amusement for the time being, but, 
if properly executed, furnishes home with much which is 
useful or ornamental, at scarcely any expense beyond the 
mere time and labor consumed in the work. 

How many of my readers know how to make things of 
papier-mache ? None who are old enough to read these 
directions are too young to make really useful objects or 
pretty playthings of this inexpensive medium ; indeed, 
many of the children of India, Persia, and many other 
Asiatic countries support themselves, and in some instances 
whole families, by making ornaments of papier-mache. 

In Germany this art is carried to a great extent, and a 
large proportion of the German toys so common in our 
stores, as well as the jointed bodies of the expensive 
French and German dolls, are made of this material. 

Papier-mache means " softened paper," and is simply 



74 PAPIKR-MACHE. 

any old soft paper converted into pulp by water ; the 
poorer the paper the better. Cheap newspapers, such as 
tear with a mere touch, thin handbills and posters, are all 
particularly suited for this purpose. 

For a first trial it would be well to take some simple ob- 
ject, and a cup would perhaps make as good a beginning 
as any. First have some good flour-paste made, by pour- 
ing into boiling water enough flour, which has previously 
been moistened with cold water, to make a substance 
rather thicker than boiled starch ; this should be stirred 
only enough to unite the flour with the water, and to 
prevent burning. Add to this one or two old newspapers 
and a dish of water, a broad brush for the paste, and any 
prettily shaped tea- cup conveniently at hand, and you 
have all the materials required. A bag filled with sand 
or stuffed hard with cotton is a great help in molding, 
although not indispensable to the operation. Take the 
cup, which should be well smeared over with sweet-oil or 
lard, and cutting out a piece of paper sufficiently large, 
wet it, and press it down on the cup, using the fingers, or 
the sand bag, if you have it, for the purpose ; then with 
the brush spread the paste over the paper, and lay on 
this another piece ; press this down as before and con- 
tinue the process until twenty or thirty paper coverings 
have been used. After the first two or three layers, it is 
not necessary to use pieces which entirely cover the sur- 



PAPIER-MACHE. 75 

face ; any sized scraps will do if they are so placed that 
the same thickness is preserved throughout. The outer 
surface should be as smooth and even as possible. When 
this is completed, let it dry for a day or two in any mod- 
erately warm place, as it is not well to dry it too quickly. 
When it seems sufficiently hard, remove the mold, and 
you will have a pasteboard cup with an uneven edge 
which must be trimmed with a sharp knife and smoothed 
with sand-paper. 

It might be well to trim off the top before removing the 
mold, as you would be more certain of getting it even by 
so doing. After this the cup can be painted in any man- 
ner desired. 

A plaque can readily be molded upon the inside of a 
plate or saucer, and a pretty work-basket can be made 
upon a shallow bowl. Toy boats are made in the same man- 
ner as the cup, upon wooden molds cut out for the purpose. 

Caed Receiveks. — These are generally flat dishes or 
shallow cups, made to hold visiting-cards, or the varied 
collections from Christmas, Easter, and New-year's. 
They may be molded on plates, saucers, or small bowls, 
or receiving their concave shape from a plaque or saucer, 
they can be cut into any fantastic form your fancy may 
dictate. A large, well-shaped grape-leaf, or the catalpa, 
would furnish pretty designs to those who have no confi- 
dence in their own skill in that direction. 



76 PAPIER-MACHE. 

Umbeella Holders. — Take any cylinder with a smooth 
surface, about two feet in length, and six to ten inches in 
diameter, for the mold; make upon it a coating of papier- 
mache about half an inch in thickness. It is made 
much stronger by rolling it during the pasting. The bot- 
tom may be of the same material, or a wooden disk made 
to perfectly fit into the cylinder. The whole surface 
should be thoroughly sand-papered and given two or 
three good coats of paint. A simple band of gold paint 
around top and bottom forms a pretty finish, but a large 
bunch of peonies or poppies, freely painted upon one 
side, greatly improves its appearance. 

By reducing a quantity of paper and paste into a pulp, 
and allowing that to become a little dried — still moist, 
but not liquid — a number of objects can be molded, such 
as animals, boats, marbles, etc., by simply forming them 
with the hands and allowing them to dry. 

Paper pulp is sometimes mixed with common blue 
clay and glue, instead of flour-paste, used as a binding 
material. 

A beautiful vase can easily be made of papier-mache by 
forming a frame- work of pasteboard, and joining it to- 
gether with a few stitches or with narrow strips of strong 
paper pasted across the edges. Make this frame- work as 
near the form and size of your vase as it is possible for 
you to get ; then with your thin paper line it inside and 



PAPIER-MACH&. 77 

out, until it seems as thick as you desire. Trim and sand- 
paper off the upper edge, and cover with one or two extra 
layers to insure a rounded edge common in earthenware 
vases. Stand it on a smooth, even table or board to make 
it flat on the bottom, and let it have plenty of time to 
dry. Next make from the paper pulp and fine clay prep- 
aration spoken of above a rose, poppy, or other flower, 
with its leaves and buds, resembling as nearly as possible 
those on the bisque vases so fashionable just now. This 
may seem at first a very difficult undertaking, but by 
molding one petal at a time, and placing each in position 
with glue as it is finished, the work is comparatively sim- 
ple. Do not undertake a difficult flower at first. If in 
summer, you may take any from the garden, and after en- 
larging every part in the same proportions, make it your 
model. When the flowers, stems, and leaves are all in 
place, let them become thoroughly dry, then after painting 
the body of your vase with shades of blue, red, or olive, so 
applied that they give a clouded effect to the whole, color 
your flowers as nearly as you can like the natural ones of 
the same species, and the stems and leaves the proper 
shades of brown or green. Let this paint thoroughly dry, 
and then varnish with the white shellac dissolved in alco- 
hol spoken of elsewhere in this book, if a very light sur- 
face is to be covered, or with the dark shellac or common 
varnish if the surface is intended to be dark. The floral 



78 THE JAPANESE PAPER BIRD. 

decorations are not absolutely necessary, and a very 
pretty vase is made by simply painting the smooth sur- 
face with any graceful or pretty design, and varnishing it 
subsequently to give it the desired polish. 




THE JAPANESE PAPER BIRD. 

In the skillful management of paper, the Japanese 
are acknowledged to take the lead, as their balloons and 
kites, lanterns and fire-screens, now so commonly seen in 
this country, will testify. 

Many of the grotesque and hideous monsters, which 



THE JAPANESE PAPER BIRD. 



79 



nevertheless are artistic in form and decorative in effect, 
are made of paper pulp, with the necessary materials 
added to give it the proper degree of hardness ; and in 
articles made of folded or crinkled paper they have no 
equals, while in some instances they apparently infuse 
life itself into their airy creations. By simply folding a 
square piece of paper in the manner here described, they 
produce a bird-like figure, which will move its wings in 
quite a natural and amusing manner. 



1 




A leaf of paper — letter-paper is good for the purpose — is 
cut into an exact square ; fold this cornerwise, and then 
through the middle each way, as indicated in Fig. 1. This 
done, turn over each corner in succession, so that the edge 
of the square will be along one of the cornerwise folds, as 
in Fig. 2, and fold sharply the portion from a to b. Do 
this eight times, twice with each corner, first turning it 
one way and then the other, till it has the folds shown in 



80 



THE JAPANESE PAPER BIRD. 



Fig. 3. Turn inward two of these portions, indicated by 
the shading, as in Fig. 4 ; this will draw together the other 
two sides : fold it closely across the middle, a b, as in Fig. 



J^lif 


IPP/l 

a / M 

/ dm 


lii 


b \1 



5 ; then repeat the same in the other direction, folding on 
the line c d. This is done to mark the folds, which may 
be made more completely by pressing them with the fin- 
ger-nail. Now it will be easy to bring the corners of the 





le 



square up together, making a figure like No. 5 or like 
No. 6, when looking down on the meeting of the points at 
a. Then bring the points 1 and 2 together, also 3 and 4, 



THE JAPANESE PAPER BIRD. 



81 



and your figure will be like No. 7. Take the two outside 
points at a and turn them down, folding at 
the dotted line, and you have Fig. 8. Now 
turn down the other two points, 3 and 4, one 
forward, the other backward, making Fig. 9, 
with two broad points inside and two narrow 
ones outside. Turn and fold these narrow 
points to the right and left, and turn down 
the end of one point to form the head, and you have the 
bird, Fig. 10. Take it by the head and tail, as shown in 
the final view, and move them to and from each other. 
After a little careful working, when the folds become flex- 







ible in the proper places, you will make the bird flap its 
wings. It can be done after a few trials, if not on the 
first, and is sure to afford amusement to all. 



82 THE THREE HALOS. 



THE TUMBLING EGG. 

Fill a quill with quicksilver, seal it at both ends with 
good hard wax ; then have an egg boiled, take a tiny- 
piece of shell off the small end, and thrust in the quill 
with the quicksilver ; lay it on the floor, and it will not 
cease tumbling so long as any heat remains in it ; or if 
you put quicksilver into a small bladder, and then blow 
it up, upon warming the bladder it will skip about as 
long as heat remains in it. 



THE THREE HALOS. 

Take a saturated solution of alum, and, having spread 
a few drops of it over a plate of glass, it will rapidly crys- 
tallize. When this plate is held between the observer and 
the sun or a lamp-flame, with the eye very close to the 
smooth side of the glass plate, there will be seen three 
beautiful halos of light at different distances from the 
luminous body. The smallest, which is the innermost cir- 
cle, is the whitest, the second is larger and more colored, 
with its blue rays extending outward, and the third is 
very large and highly colored. 



PAPER BOATS. 



PAPER BOATS. 



Take a piece of paper measuring about four by three 
inches ; fold it across the middle, as shown by dotted line 



Fig-Z 



Fig.l 



in Fig. 1; then turn down the corners of the folded side (ab, 




Tig- 3 



Fig. 2). You now have Fig. 3 ; turn up the edge c d toward 



84 



PAPER BOATS. 



you, and fold it ; turn up the other edge away from you, 
and fold it against the other side, which gives you Fig. 4. 




Tig- 4 



Bend over the points c d in either direction, also the other 
two corresponding points, so that the outline of the triangle 

9 




is continuous. You can cut off these little corners if you 



PAPER BOATS. 



85 



like ; but the boat is somewhat stronger, however, by let- 
ting them remain, and after a little experience, you will 
find no difficulty in disposing of them. This little hat- 
shaped form you now open (Fig. 5) and press together, 




with the points e f meeting each other, which gives you 
Fig. 6. Bend the point/ up toward you till it meets the 
point </, folding on the dotted line. Turn the point e 
up likewise on the other side. Now you have another 




Fiq< 3 






hat, but smaller, and with a triple crown. Treat this as 
before (Figs. 5 and 6). Your last shape will have two 
points meeting at the bottom and three at the top. Pull 



86 HOW TO TAKE IMPRESSIONS OF PLANTS. 

the two outside points at the top apart sideways (Fig. 7), 
and continue this till you have drawn it out to a flat 




Ti 



shape, as in Fig. 8. Press this closely together, then open 
it slightly, and the boat is complete — like Fig. 9. 

(Note. — To avoid taking up unnecessary space, the first two figures are 
drawn smaller than their actual proportion to the rest.) 



HOW TO TAKE IMPRESSIONS OF PLANTS. 

Take fine paper and oil it well with lard or sweet oil ; 
let it stand a few moments to soak through, then remove 
the superfluous oil with a piece of paper, and hang it in 
the air to dry. When the oil is well dried in, take a 
lighted candle and move the paper slowly over it in a 
horizontal direction so as to touch the flame, till it is per- 
fectly black. When you wish to take impressions of 
plants, lay your plant carefully on the oiled paper, and a 
piece of clean paper over it, and rub it with your finger 
equally in all parts for' about half a minute ; then take 



A NICE FRAME FOR PLANT IMPRESSIONS. 87 

up your plant, being careful not to disturb the order of 
the leaves, and place it on the paper on which you wish 
to have the impression ; cover it with a piece of blotting- 
paper and rub it with your finger for a short time, and 
you will have an impression equal to a fine engraving. 
The same piece of black paper will serve to take off a 
great number of impressions, so that when you have once 
gone through the process of blacking it, you may make 
several impressions in a very short time. 

It is well for beginners to try with single leaves before 
attempting whole plants. After you have gained some 
experience you will find little difficulty in making a beau- 
tiful bouquet of leaves, which will be a very acceptable 
Christmas or birthday gift for mother or an older sister 
or friend. 



A NICE FRAME FOR THE ABOVE. 

Procure a strip of board, half an inch thick and three 
inches wide ; take the dimensions of your drawing or 
impression picture, and subtracting half an inch from 
both length and width, make the remainder the inner di- 
mensions of your frame. For instance, suppose your pict- 
ure was twelve inches wide and fourteen inches long, the 
inner dimensions of your frame would be eleven and one- 
half by thirteen and one-half inches. The two upright 



88 A NICE FRAME FOR PLANT IMPRESSIONS. 

strips would be cut just thirteen and one-half inches long, 
but the top and bottom would be eleven and one-half 
inches plus six inches, the width of the two sides, which is 
seventeen and one-half inches. So the two sides would 
be thirteen and one-half inches and the top and bottom 
seventeen and one-half inches each. Great care must be 
taken to cut the pieces so that their ends will be at exact 
right angles to their sides. If you are not expert in such 
work, it would be well to get a carpenter to cut the pieces 
for you. In selecting your stock for this frame, procure a 
board with a rough, unplaned surface, if possible, as the 
result is much better than with a perfectly smooth satin 
finish. Next take a lath and cut from it two strips three 
inches longer than the side-pieces, in this instance sixteen 
and one-half inches, and two other strips one-half inch 
longer than the inner dimensions of top and bottom, be- 
ing twelve inches for the frame we are making. With 
good hot glue join the parts of the frame, and tie it with 
a cord to keep its form till the glue is dry ; then lay the 
laths upon the back of the frame, one-fourth of an inch 
from the inner edge, and with small brads nail them in 
place. At this stage it is well to have your glass fitted, 
as it saves marring the frame when finished. After it is 
fitted — any glazier will do that for you — lay the glass 
carefully away till needed. Find some prettily shaped 
larch twigs with their little cones attached, or if they are 



A NICE FRAME FOE PLANT IMPRESSIONS. 89 

not to be had, pine twigs will do, and with the hot glne 
and two or three slender brads, place them in graceful 
bunches over the points of joining. With a bottle of gold 
paint and a soft brush you can very soon change this^ 
rough, unpretending affair into a very artistic frame, one 
of which, if every step of the process of construction has 
been carefully taken, you may justly be proud. The 
glass is next put in place, then the picture carefully laid 
upon that, face downward, and a piece of cardboard— an 
old paper-box cover will do — cut the exact size of the 
glass, laid upon both ; these are caught in place by brad- 
nails driven into the edges of the laths, and extending 
over the edges of the cardboard. When the picture is 
firmly fixed in its place, paste a piece of strong brown 
paper over the whole back of the picture and frame, cov- 
ering the laths as well. This will exclude all dust and 
dampness and make the whole thing neater in appearance. 
Last of all, put in two screw-eyes a little above the middle 
line of the frame and attach a wire or cord for hanging it 
in its place upon the wall. 

[Note. — Before pasting on the brown paper, dampen it well to avoid its 
wrinkling.] 



90 PAPIER-MACHE BOATS. 

PAPIER-MACHE BOATS. 

In a preceding article, I alluded to boats as being good 
subjects for papier-mache, and remembering how much 
pleasure every boy takes in constructing a boat, I will 
give a few more explicit directions for the benefit of those 
of my readers who have ponds and brooks within easy 
access of their homes. 

Having cut from soft wood a good model for the hull, 
smear it well over with sweet- oil or lard, and rub it well 
into the wood ; then cut your paper into strips an inch or 
so wide, and paste them longitudinally around the model 
from stem to stern, in very much the same manner that 
the boards are put on a real boat, but not so evenly, as 
the arrangement will not show when the boat is com- 
pleted. Continue this process until the coating of paper 
is as thick as very heavy pasteboard, and let it remain 
until perfectly dry ; then with a sharp knife cut off the 
edge evenly at the top, and sand-paper the whole surface 
till it is smooth and hard. 

Cover both inside and out with two good coats of oil 
paint, making sure that every point is protected by this 
medium from the invasion of the water, which would soon 
ruin it if allowed to reach the paper surface. 

Now cut two supports or braces out of 5 -inch board, 
which will just fit into the body of the boat, across it from 
side to side. These are to give proper strength and, at the 



PAPIER MAC HE BOATS. 91 

same time, form supports for the masts ; while into a post 
at the stern two small iron sockets can be driven from 
the outside through the paper, for holding the rudder in 
place. The others are placed, one fore and the other aft, 
in the position the masts are finally to occupy. 

As these boats are necessarily very light, some ballast 
or a keel is indispensable for their sailing well. If a 
ballast is used, it must be fastened in place by wires on 
the inside ; but as a keel is most satisfactory in the end, 
I should strongly advise its use. As it is molded from 
lead, you will be obliged to construct your own mold, 
which can be done by digging out a piece of wood in the 
proper shape, or, what is easier, by nailing on a flat piece 
of board two narrow strips at a suitable distance from 
each other, and closing the form by nailing other and 
shorter strips across the ends of the first. A little trough, 
as you will see, will be the result, and if after passing into 
this your melted lead you place two sharp nails with their 
heads imbedded in the mass, at the same distance from 
each other, and in the same relative positions as your 
wooden supports, your keel will, when hard, require only 
a few blows with the hammer to fix it in place. Care 
must be taken to place the nails so that they will enter 
the supports after passing through the paper bottom ; as 
the keel would not otherwise hold in place. Next cut 
from the cigar-box wood a deck for your craft ; this is 



92 PAPIER-MACHE BOATS. 

easiest done by simply laying the model upon the wood 
bottom upward, and marking around the edge with a 
sharp-pointed lead-pencil. This deck must necessarily 
fit in your boat if your lines are followed in the cutting. 
Mark upon the deck the positions of the supports, and 
bore holes through it and into them, for the accommoda- 
tion of the masts, which should be two in number for a 
schooner, or three for a full-rigged ship ; fasten a bow- 
sprit in its place, and arrange your sails and stays to suit 
the style of your boat. 

After tbe keel, deck, and bowsprit are in place, it would 
be well to give her another good coat of paint, and when 
that is perfectly dry, to varnish her thoroughly with the 
shellac spoken of before in this book. 

This boat is a great improvement on the ordinary dug- 
out hulls most boys are in the habit of making ; for aside 
from taking less time in making, and sailing more rapidly, 
it has the advantage of being duplicated ; that is, of hav- 
ing a dozen if you wish, made just like it on the same 
model, while it would be almost impossible to make two 
alike by the old, laborious method. In forming your 
model be careful to make it largest at the top, so that it 
can be removed without trouble from its papier-mache 
covering. 



THE TOT STEAM-BOAT. 



93 




THE TOY STEAM-BOAT. 

Among the many mechanical toys a boy of ordinary 
ability can make, the steam-boat is perhaps one of the 
most satisfactory of them all. 

As a scroll-saw takes an important part in its making, 
some knowledge of one, or friendship with the owner of 
it, is desirable, if not absolutely necessary, for complete 
success. 

This toy is composed principally of five pieces of board, 
of different degrees of thickness, which are first cut out 
as follows : 

The first piece, or hull, is eighteen inches long by three 
and one-half inches wide, with a shape like that indicated 
by Fig.l, and made of wood seven-eighths of an inch thick. 

To insure making both sides of these pieces alike, it 
would be well to first draw, on thick brown paper, a straight 
line from the bow to the middle point of the stern, and 



94 THE TOT STEAM-BOAT. 

carefully mark out one-half the piece on the right side of 
this line ; then, folding the paper on the line, cut through 
the outline, and the pattern is ready for use on your 
wood. Do this with all the parts, and you will find less 
difficulty in putting them together. 

The second piece is made of a half -inch board, and is 
nineteen inches long, by five and one-half inches wide 
opposite the slits for the wheels. 

The dotted line d e across this is just nine and one-half 
inches from the bow, and is placed there to show where 
the slits a a are to begin. These slits are for the wheels, 
and are four and one- quarter inches long, five-eighths of 
an inch wide, and three-eighths of an inch from the edge. 
The sides opposite these slits must be straight, or parallel 
to a line drawn from bow to middle of stern. The hole in 
the middle is three inches long by two inches wide, with 
an extension two inches long by one wide on the forward 
end. The middle of the main hole forms a line with the 
middle point of the paddle-wheel slits. Remember and 
mark out one-half of this on paper, double, and cut both 
sides at once ; do 3, 4, and 5 the same way. 

The third piece is made of seven-eighths-inch wood, four- 
teen inches long, and corresponds in shape to the second 
board from the dotted line b c, Fig. 2, to just aft of the slits 
for the paddle-wheels. Here the edge forms a line parallel 
to that of the second board, but one inch from it "all the 




FigZ 




ng- A 




n 3 .<r 



THE TOT STEAM-BOAT 9? 

distance around, as indicated by the dotted lines on Fig. 
2. Its shape is given in Fig. 3, and the point d is intended 
to fall over e in Fig. 1. The rear, /, in the second board, 
indicated in Fig. 2, extends an inch beyond, and forms 
the base for the flag-staff to stand upon, and a hole is made 
at g for another flag-staff to rest in (see engraving). The 
slits and central hole are the same size as in second board, 
and correspond to them in shape and position. (The posi- 
tion which three occupies in connection with two is indi- 
cated on Fig. 2 by the dotted lines.) 

Fourth piece : Cut it like Fig. 4 in shape, and out of a 
board one inch in thickness. Its position is indicated by 
the inner set of dotted lines on Fig. 3. This piece is ten 
inches long and two and three-quarter inches wide, with 
a central hole the same size and shape as in the other 
pieces. At three-quarters of an inch forward from the 
slits for paddle-wheels, cut in three-quarters of an inch 
and finish in a semicircular shape at each end. 

The fifth piece is made of half -inch wood, in shape like 

Fig. 5, and fifteen inches long by two and three-quarter 

inches wide, with the middle opening corresponding in 

length to the other three, but only three-quarters of an 

inch wide. Its position is indicated on Fig. 3 by the 

outer set of dotted lines. When referring to these pieces 

hereafter, I will call them Numbers 1, 2, etc., as indicated 

by the figures. 
4 



98 



THE TOT STEAM-BOAT. 



The smoke-stack next claims our attention : this is six 
inches long, and seven-eighths of an inch in diameter 
across the top ; its position is indicated at g on Fig. 5. 

The pilot-house is cylindrical, and cut to correspond in 
form to that in the illustration. It is one and one-half 
inches in diameter and two inches high from base line to 
tip of point on the top. 

The walking-beam is rather less than one -quarter of an 
inch thick, and is two and three-quarter inches long by 
one and one-quarter inches wide. It should be cut in the 
shape represented in Fig. 6, and a small hole bored in 
either end. 

The supports for the walking-beam are two in number, 
made of quarter-inch wood, cut in the shape of d, e, /, 
Fig. 6 ; the base line, df, is one and 
one-half inches, and the height of the 
support just two inches. 

The wheels are made from three- 
eighths-of-an-inch wood and are cir- 
cular in form, with a diameter of 
three and three-quarter inches. 

At this stage of the work it would 
be well to bore in each of these two 
holes to allow the passage of a good- 
sized wire ; one hole through the 
center, and the other a quarter of an inch one side of it. 



%0 





THE TOT STEAM-BOAT. 99 

This is so arranged that the wire can be brought through 
the center of one wheel and allowed to project a few 
inches. Then bend the projecting end twice, in Jm -y 
such a manner that it may enter the second hole 
in the wheel when that is pushed back upon it. 
This arrangement is seen at B, Fig. 3, in which 
the dotted lines show the final position of the 
wheel. 

The pieces for the paddle-boxes, four in num- 
ber, are semicircular, with a base line or diam- 
eter of four and one-quarter inches. The form is seen in 
Fig. 8, which also is intended to assist in the decoration. 

Fig. 7 represents a front view of the walking-beam and 
its supports ; the line a b is a short piece of strong wire, 
which passes through the hole made in the center of the 
walking-beam, and rests in two holes made in the sides of 
the supports near the top, and extending nearly, but not 
quite through to the outer side. This is plainly seen in 
the figure, the black line indicating the length of these 
holes. C in the same figure is a small piece cut from a 
quarter-inch wood and intended to hold the supports in 
place, and to keep them a sufficient distance apart to al- 
low free motion of the walking-beam. 

The forward and aft flag-staffs are of large wire, and the 
two masts are of tough wood nearly as large round as a 
lead-pencil. 



100 THE TOT STEAM-BOAT, 

Having all the parts now cut out in the proper form and 
size, take each piece and bore holes for the screws which 
hold them together. The position of these is indicated in 
each fig are by the heads of the screws placed at precisely 
the best points ; these screws should be of different 
lengths, as those passing through No. 4 require a length 
of one and one-half to one and three-quarter inches, while 
those for No. 2 need not be more than an inch in length. 
In No. 3 make four small holes, indicated by a in Fig. 3, 
for slender screws which are to hold the outer paddle-box 
pieces in place. In Fig. 8, the lines b c, be, indicate 
grooves, cut down in the sides five-eighths of an inch 
deep, and reaching across in a straight line from the mid- 
dle of one slit to the middle of the other ; these should be 
large enough to admit an easy play of the wire which is 
to form the axle of the wheels. Holes should also be made 
at a and b, in Fig. 5, for the wire forming the flag-staffs 
to pass up through, and for the screws at c and g, which 
are to hold the pilot-house and smoke-stack in place. 

Having smoothed off all these pieces and sand-papered 
those parts needing it, we now proceed to the painting, 
as it is much more convenient to paint each piece sepa- 
rately, and then put them together, than to leave it till the 
last, as is generally the custom. 

No. 1 simply needs a thick coat of white paint. 

No. 2 is also painted white. It seems unnecessary to 



THE TOT STEAM-BOAT. 



101 



add that those parts not seen when the steam-boat is put 
together, need no paint. 

No. 3 is first painted white, then the windows are sten- 
ciled on in the same manner as given in the directions for 
making toy cars, in another part of this book. These 
should be black, while the name should be either dark 
red or brown. 

No. 4 is also white, with windows stenciled on in black, 
as in No. 3, while No. 5 is painted a buff color, both on 
the top and nnder-side. 

The smoke-stack is black, while the base is a deep yel- 
low ; and the pilot-house is white, with windows stenciled 
around its sides, while its pagoda-shaped top is a bright, 
light green. 




Fig-B 



In Fig. 8, the two outside pieces of the paddle-box are 
given ; and the manner in which they are to be painted is 
indicated ; these four pieces need be painted only on one 
side, with a thick coat of white ; two of these may now 
be laid aside, but the other two, after drying, should be 
decorated with radiating lines of red extending from the 



102 TEE TOT STEAM-BOAT. 

central semicircle, to the dark-red line running around the 
top at a short distance from the edge. These radiating 
lines should be alternated with light blue ones near the 
circumference ; and the small semicircle at the bottom is 
a rich dark blue, with a star cut from gilt paper pasted 
on to give it the desired brilliant effect. 

The walking-beam, Fig. 6, should next be treated ; this 
is first covered with a bright green, and when dry marked 
with black, as indicated in the cut. The supports are 
first painted buff, the same color as the top, and after- 
ward striped with black, as seen in Fig. 6. 

The wheels must not be forgotten, for although show- 
ing but slightly, they would give the whole boat an unfin- 
ished appearance if left unpainted. These may be dark, 
or Indian red, with lines of black radiating from the 
center to the edge. 

After all the parts are perfectly dry, fasten No. 2 and 
No. 1 in position, then having a sufficient length of wire, 
about the size of a large knitting-needle, fasten it in the 
first wheel, as indicated at B, Fig. 3. Then bend it into a 
crank, as shown by dotted lines in the middle opening of 
Fig. 3. This crank should be one and one-half inches 
wide and three-quarters of an inch deep ; make the points, 
where it bends, as near right angles as possible ; then pass 
the end through the other wheel, and with pliers bend it 
in place ; next fasten the end of the wire, as in the first 



THE TOY STEAM-BOAT 103 

wheel, taking especial care meanwhile that the wheels are 
fixed the proper distance apart, and that the center of the 
crank comes in the middle of the opening. 

It is a matter of some difficulty to adjust these wheels, 
as they should not be crowded against either side of the 
slit, but turn easily when the boat is drawn over the floor. 

After the crank is bent in shape, wind around it the end 
of a piece of smaller wire about six inches long, as shown 
in Fig. 3. This wire is to connect the crank to the walk- 
ing-beam, but it is not to be fastened to the latter until 
the boat is put together. 

The outside of the paddle-boxes should next be attached 
to No. 3 by the small screws already spoken of, which 
are to pass up from the under-side through the holes a &, 
a a, Fig. 3, into their lower edge. The extremities of 
these boxes should form a line with the ends of the slits, 
and the outside of these and the edge of No. 3, which con- 
tains the name, should form a continuous flat surface. 

The other two sides of these paddle-boxes are to be se- 
cured against the sides of No. 4, their bottom line form- 
ing a continuation of the bottom of the piece, and their 
position determined by placing the part on top of No. 3, 
as indicated in Fig. 3, and making their ends form a 
straight line with those of the outside pieces and the 
slits ; this is also indicated by the dotted lines on the 
outside of Fig. 4. 



104 TEE TOT STEAM-BOAT. 

Having fastened No. 3 in its position over No. 2 (see 
Fig. 2, dotted lines), place the wheels in their slits and 
let the wires rest in the bottom of the grooves ; they will 
then extend a fraction of an inch below the bottom of the 
boat. This arrangement is intentional, as the toy is in- 
tended to be drawn over a floor or carpet, and it is the 
friction these wheels encounter that moves the walking- 
beam, and thus gives it the natural appearance of a boat 
moving through the water. After these wires are pushed 
to the bottom of the grooves, insert wedges of wood 
above, deep enough to nearly touch them ; make these of 
tough hard wood, so that there shall be no danger of the 
wheels riding up out of their proper places. 

Place No. 4 in position, first drawing the wire attached 
to the crank through the opening, and screw it firmly 
down upon No. 3. There is now no danger of the axle of 
the wheels getting out of order, if the wedges were firmly 
fixed, and deep enough to keep the wire in place. 

The smoke-stack should now be fastened with a strong 
and very long screw from the under-side of No. 5, at g. 
It should be very firmly attached in its place, as little 
children frequently use this as a handle to take the boat 
from the floor. Fasten on the pilot-house in the same 
manner at c, on Fig. 5. Having the walking-beam and its 
supports perfectly dry — and it would have been well to 
have given both a good coating of shellac dissolved in 



THE TOT STEAM-BOAT 105 

alcohol — take a wire or piece of knitting-needle nine-six- 
teenths of an inch long, and having fixed one end in the 
hole made near the top of the support to hold it, pass it 
through the central hole in the walking-beam, and insert 
the other end in the second support, then screw the piece 
marked c, in Fig. 7, in its place, which will of course hold 
the walking-beam firmly fixed. Now glue the supports 
inside the slit of No. 5, and in such a position that when 
the, walking-beam is extended in a horizontal direction, 
the hole in the end toward the stern shall be exactly 
above the line of the axle of the wheels — that is, a line 
running across the boat from the center of one wheel to 
that of the other. These supports should also be caught 
underneath with nails, that there may be no danger of 
their falling through into the opening in the center. 

Having fixed these in place, fasten the loose end of the 
wire connected with the crank through the small hole in 
the end of the walking-beam, so that when the crank is in 
a horizontal position, the walking-beam will also be in the 
same position. Attach a piece of wire four or five inches 
long to the other end of the walking-beam, and let the 
loose end fall through the opening in the top. 

Now cover the open spaces at the top of the paddle- 
boxes with pieces of tin just wide enough to reach their 
edges, and catch it in place with tacks. Paint them with 
the light buff used for the deck. 



106 THE TOT STEAM-BOAT. 

Fasten the two wire flag-staffs to bow and stern, and 
pass a wooden one seven inches long through a, Fig. 5, 
down into a hole in No. 2, as shown in Fig. 2, at g. 
With fine wire attach a topmast five inches in length to 
this, allowing them to lap about an inch. 

Sink a mast four inches in length into a hole bored 
through 5 and well into 4, so that its top will be about 
three inches above the deck, and fasten the stays in their 
positions, as seen in the cut. On a piece of blue cambric 
paint white stars, cut it in the shape of a flag, and attach 
it to the forward pole. A small "one cent flag" will do 
for the stern, while the name of the boat painted in red 
or vermilion upon a white ground, should float from the 
tall staff in front of the pilot-honse. 

Before the flags are placed, the whole surface of the 
boat should be washed, if she has become soiled while be- 
ing put together, and after the flag-staffs and stays are 
painted and have dried, the whole should be covered with 
the shellac dissolved in alcohol. Be sure and use white 
shellac, as the other would stain the white to a light brown 
and spoil the whole effect. 

A hole is bored horizontally through the bow three- 
quarters of an inch from the extreme end, of sufficient 
size to admit a piece of large fish-line, the ends of which 
after it is inserted can be tied together to give a better 
hold for the hand. 



THE BOTTLE IMP. 107 

This boat is modeled after the ordinary bay and river 
excursion boats common to the northern and middle At- 
lantic sea-coast, but if any boy residing in the West should 
care to make one resembling those he is accustomed to see, 
he will find little difficulty in modifying these directions 
to suit his own particular taste in naval architecture. 



THE BOTTLE IMP. 

Take one or more small bottles, such as are generally 
used by homeopathic physicians for their pellets ; cover 
them with a bit of closely- woven white cloth, and fasten 
it with a string around the middle. With oil paint make 
a grotesque face upon the upper part, and draw stripes or 
figures to represent a clown's dress upon the lower and 




loose portion of the covering of each. Varnish this with 
the shellac, dissolved in alcohol, and when perfectly dry 



108 THE BOTTLE IMP. 

they are ready for use. Have a large-mouthed, perfectly 
clear glass jar nearly filled with water ; then, after filling 
the little bottles about one-third full of the liquid, place 
the finger over the opening and immerse them, one at a 
time, bottom upward, into the jar. Be sure and keep the 
finger over the tiny mouth till they are well under the 
surface of the water. Should they sink in the jar, you 
have too much water in them. 

The quantity of water they contain should be such that 
they will barely float, that is, the bottom of the little in- 
verted vials should just touch the surface. This adjust- 
ing of the equilibrium is a matter of some delicacy ; a 
single drop will make a difference : but by half -filling the 
bottle, placing the finger over the mouth, and removing it 
an instant to allow a drop or two to escape, the proper 
degree of buoyancy may be attained. Three or four of 
these bottles, in masquerade, should be introduced into the 
jar, and if they are, as they doubtless will be, of slightly 
differing degrees of buoyancy, the amusing effect will be 
enhanced. Now stretch a piece of thin rubber, such as 
toy balloons are made of, across the mouth of the jar, and 
tie it down, as seen in the illustration. 

To make the imps dance, one has only to press upon 
the rubber top, as the air, in the top of the jar, is thus 
forced downward, the water is driven up into the small 
bottles, compressing the tiny quantity of air they contain, 



THE BOTTLE IMP. 



109 



and they, in consequence, fall lower in the jar ; but when 
the pressure is removed, the air in them expands, and 
they instantly rise to their normal position again. 

Quite a pleasant evening's entertainment can be derived 
from this simple toy. You may first adjust your imps 




and make sure they are in good working order ; then pre- 
pare a slight introductory speech, in which you can pre- 
tend to mesmerize the little images, not letting it be 
known they are bottles, and by some wonderful power 
you are supposed to possess, can make them obey your 



110 A TELESCOPE WHICH A BOY CAN MAKE. 

slightest wish. This will be very simple, as they will nat- 
urally descend when you press upon the top. This press- 
ure should be exerted in such a manner that it is not 
noticed by the others in the room. You might stand 
with your left hand resting upon the top of the jar as if 
by accident, but in such a manner that you can easily 
press down upon the rubber with one or more fingers, and 
while telling of the wonderful things these little fellows 
can do, you can make graceful gestures with your right 
hand, and motion with it what you require them to do ; 
it will thus seem that they are obeying the motions of 
that hand, and will serve to mystify more than ever those 
of your audience who are unacquainted with the secret. 



TELESCOPE WHICH A BOY CAN MAKE. 

First, obtain two lenses ; the larger having a long and 
the smaller a short focus. 

A powerful telescope, having a large field of vision, re- 
quires a lens at least two inches in diameter, with a focus 
of from two to three feet for the larger glass ; and another 
lens of from one-half to one inch in diameter, and with 
a focus of one inch, for the smaller end. Having your 
lenses, the next important step is to make your tubes ; 
this is done by bending a piece of pasteboard a foot long by 



A TELESCOPE WHICH A BOY CAN MAKE. Ill 

seven inches wide in the shape of a tube, whose diameter 
shall be about one-sixteenth of an inch larger than that of 
your lens. Glue the edges firmly together, and tie a piece 
of tape around to insure their keeping in place. Make 
two tubes of this size and one rather smaller, that its 
ends may fit in the other two. Lap these ends together, 
and paste or glue them in place (see cut). Joining these 



sections together is simply to insure a proper length of 
tube. If a piece of pasteboard can be found large enough 
to make a tube three feet long, it will look much neater 
than the one described above. Take a narrow strip of 
pasteboard and glue it around the inside of the tube, half 
an inch from one end ; put the large lens in its place, and 
press it against the edge of this band. Now take another 
strip, three-eighths of an inch wide, and paste around the 
inside between the lens and the end of the tube. By this 
means the glass is kept in place, it being held by the 
edges of the pasteboard on either side. 

Another and smaller tube, five or six inches in length, 
and of a size just sufficient to slide easily in the other end 
of the long tube should now be made. Around the inside 
of one end paste a band of pasteboard, as in the larger 
section, but much nearer the edge. When this is dry, 



112 A TELESCOPE WHICH A BOY CAN MAKE. 

paste still another strip inside this one, making a wide 
edge for the lens to rest against. As this tube is of much 
greater diameter than the glass, inclose the latter between 
two disks of cardboard of the same size as the opening in 
the tube, and each having a round hole cut in its center 
for the eye to look through. Cover the inner side with 
paste, and press it against the edges of the strips. Finally, 
cover the whole thing with some dark-colored paper, past- 
ing it carefully over the surface, and your telescope is 
completed. 

This instrument will present everything in an inverted 
position, but if the lenses are carefully adjusted, objects 
at a long distance can be very plainly seen, and a boy can 
derive a great amount of solid comfort, not only while 
constructing, but from its subsequent use. 

To find the focal distance of a lens, if for any reason 
the optician does not give it, hold it in the sun, and ob- 
serve at what distance from itself it makes the smallest 
point of light. That, if measured, will be its focal dis- 
tance. The long tube should be from two to three inches 
shorter than the focal distance of the larger lens. 



CHRISTMAS PRESENTS. 113 

CHRISTMAS PRESENTS. 

"What shall we make for Christmas % " is the cry that 
arises from the children all over this land and abroad, 
wherever the Christmas season is known and observed ; 
and many a boy would be glad to contribute his share of 
labor toward making the others of his household happy, 
if he only could think of something to make. In the fol- 
lowing pages, I purpose to give a few directions for some 
simple things, which boys of ordinary ability can easily 
execute. 

THE ORNAMENTAL EGG. 

Procure a large, perfectly white, hen's egg, and after 
making a hole slightly larger than a pea in either end, 
blow the contents into a bowl placed to receive it. Paint 
some little thing on both sides of the shell — a bunch of 
forget-me-nots or pansies are very good subjects — or, if 
well acquainted with the brush, a small landscape, inclosed 
in an oval, is still prettier. After the painting is perfectly 
dry, varnish it with a brush filled with " retouching var- 
nish," and, with a long hair-pin, draw a piece of blue or 
pink ribbon through the holes, and get some lady friend, 
who can keep the secret, to tie the ends in a pretty bow. 
A yard of ribbon about an inch wide is required to com- 
plete this pretty ornament. 



114 CHRISTMAS PRESENTS. 



TEINKET-HOLDEE. 

During your summer journeyings, collect any fine large 
shells you may see ; the large well-formed quahaug-shells 
(the common hard-shell clam), or those of the beautiful 
sea clam, with their wonderful opalescent linings. Scrape 
off all the outside you can possibly remove ; then sketch 
on the inside some pleasing marine view, or, if that is be- 
yond your powers, take any simple subject you are confi- 
dent of doing well, remembering that a very unpretending 
thing, well painted, is much more pleasing, and indeed 
ornamental, than the most ornate subject imaginable, if 
poorly executed or badly drawn. 

In painting on egg or sea shell, or, in fact, on any hard 
substance of a similar nature, use the paint as dry as is 
consistent with its flowing freely, and allow plenty of 
time for it to dry. After the painting seems firm and 
hard, give it a good coat of varnish, taking care to avoid 
touching all the unpainted surface of the shell. This 
little trinket-holder is easily made, costs nothing if one 
has a supply of paints at command, and makes one of the 
most acceptable presents you can offer to either an older 
sister or brother, as it is intended to stand on the dress- 
ing-table, and hold rings, collar-studs, or sleeve-buttons, 
when taken off for the night. 



CHRISTMAS PRESENTS. 115 

AN IDEA FOR BRACKETS. 

In making a corner bracket, which, on the whole, is the 
most satisfactory to make, let one side be as large as the 
other, with the thickness of the wood in addition, and let 
the front of the shelf form the arc of a circle. If no cur- 
tain or fringe is to be tacked on the shelf to cover the up- 
rights, some simple ornamentation on these is desirable. 
If a scroll-saw is conveniently at hand, this is easily ac- 
complished. A design should first be drawn upon paper 
the exact shape and size of the bracket desired. This 
should then be transferred to the wood and the surplus 
portions carefully cut away. After the pattern is sawed 
out, the edges should be rubbed down with sand -paper, 
or if left very rough, a rasp would reduce this uneven- 
ness more readily ; the sand-paper should be used in 
that case, to give the final finish. After the surface is as 
smooth as it is possible to make it, oil the whole, and 
when dry put the three parts together with brads and 
glue. Then oil the entire surface again, and when dry 
varnish if you like. 

ANOTHER BRACKET. 

If no scroll-saw is to be had, a pretty pair of uprights 
are made by gouging a narrow stripe around the entire 
form, at equal distances from the edge, and painting with 
gold paint a small stenciled form on the middle of each, 



116 CHRISTMAS PRESENTS. 

also filling the stripe with the same material. For the 
stencil use a simple one of your own design, made accord- 
ing to directions given in another place in this book. 
Should you and an older sister desire to unite in making 
the present, she making the curtain, and you the wood- 
work, no fancy design would be required. A simple 
bracket, with well-proportioned supports nicely curving 
in front, and well sand-papered, oiled, and varnished, 
would be all required, as the curtain would hide the en- 
tire form. 

THE CONE AND TWIG BRACKET. 

One of the prettiest home-made brackets the writer ever 
saw was in an old-fashioned country house, in a thinly 
settled region of Massachusetts. The maker, a quiet, 
gentlemanly boy of fifteen, was a cripple, and being 
obliged to remain much of his time within-doors, had 
utilized these spare moments, and surrounded himself 
with many beautiful things, made from materials which 
nature with so lavish a hand bestows upon us all. This 
poor crippled boy loved the fields and meadows, lakes 
and woods, with an intensity of feeling utterly inconceiv- 
able to his more robust brothers and sisters ; but his 
gentle, kindly manner won their hearts, and the brightest 
and best the farm afforded, whether fruit or flowers, min- 
erals or young animals, found its way into "Ned's sane- 



CHRISTMAS PRESENTS. 117 

turn," as his little room was called. Even the young 
calves and colts, were brought around to his window, that 
he might admire their rather doubtful beauty, and nearly 
every brood of newly-hatched chickens spent several 
hours of .their early life in a basket on the table at his 
side. One day, the children brought home some beautiful 
spruce and larch cones, and the little sufferer began, with 
the true artist's sentiment, to revolve in his mind how he 
could put them in a form, which should always be in 
sight from his place by the window. At last he thought 
of the bracket, and immediately set to work drawing de- 
signs for the foundation. When these were quite satis- 
factory, he asked his brother to saw the different pieces 
from old cigar-box wood, and nail them together. The 
bracket was very simple in outline, but the arrangement 
of the cones, half nut-shells, and tiny twigs, was extremely 
artistic and pretty. They covered the two supports and 
the under-side of the shelf, forming little pendants, like 
stalactites in some hidden cave. These were glued firmly 
in place and afterward carefully varnished. 

THE PEBBLE YASE. 

On this bracket was a little vase, made by the same deft 
fingers. A broken wine-glass held the water, and the 
vase was formed around this, of that inexhaustible mate- 
rial, papier-mache, studded all over with bits of colored 



118 CHRISTMAS PRESENTS. 

glass and bright pebbles gathered from the sea-shore. 
From earliest spring till the frost claimed the last linger- 
ing blossom, this vase was filled with the fairest flowers 
of the seasons, and, with the unique little bracket, seemed 
like a bit of the delightful out-door world transferred to 
the pleasant corner of the sunny little room. 

THE CONE AND TWIG HANGING-BASKET. 

The fall after his experiment with the bracket, Ned 
made a hanging-basket with the same materials, using a 
wooden bowl for the foundation. This was also a success, 
but not as uncommon as the bracket. The cocoanut-shell, 
cut evenly around near one end, forms a good material to 
build upon. In either this or the bowl, be sure to bore 
three holes near the top, at equal distances from each 
other, to attach the chains or strings to the basket. This 
must be done before the cones are glued in place. If a 
fourth hole is made near the bottom, and filled with a 
round-headed peg which can be removed at will, but 
which forms a part of the design, and receives its share 
of the final varnishing, the plants growing in the basket 
will present a much more flourishing condition, as the 
surplus water can be readily drawn off from their roots. 



PAPER BOXES. 119 



PAPER BOXES. 

Many years ago, when our mothers were little girls and 
ready-made playthings were not as common as at the 
present day, during the long winter evenings they were 
obliged to invent their own amusements, and it was not 
uncommon in a large family where there were several 
girls and boys, for them to take turns in providing games 
for certain evenings in the week. Even the little ones con- 
tributed their share to the general amusement, and it was 
from one of these little girls, now grown to be an old gray- 
haired lady, that I first learned to make these simple 
boxes. 




r v .i 

Take a square of ordinary note-paper, fold it as in 
Fig. 1, and crease it across ; now open it and bring the 
two corners to the central point of the crease, and mak- 



120 PAPER BOXES. 

ing them just touch each other at that point, and crease 




Fig.Z 

the folds, as in Fig. 2. Next fold between these folds 
and between the last made, and the corners, as in Fig. 3, 




Fig. 3 



always remembering to crease the folds when made. Now 



PAPER BOXES. 121 

turn the paper and crease it seven times across the other 




Fy-4 




Fig- 5 

way, and you will find your paper is folded in little 



122 



PAPER BOXES. 



squares. Then take your scissors and cut the little half 
squares left out in Fig. 4. Then with your penknife or 
the sharp points of the scissors cut the little slits 1 and 
2 ; next, cut 3 and 4, 5 and 6 to the first creases ; last, 7 
and 8, 9 and 10 to the dots, but no further. Now fold 




Fig 



the joint marked 9, 10, so that it will go through the slit 

2, and when you have passed it through, straighten it out 

and press the paper in the shape of Fig. 6. Now pass the 

last point through the remaining slit and 

your box is complete. Occasionally, we 

used to make "nests " of these boxes, by 

commencing with very tiny ones, and 

gradually increasing the size, making one 

over another until our paper gave out, or 

f l 9 we became tired of the amusement. 




LEATHER WORK. 123 

A SHAVING-CASE. 

Although generally considered girls' work, many little 
boys delight in working upon perforated paper, and they 
can put this pleasure to good account in making a shav- 
ing-case for papa. Procure a piece of silver or gold gilt 
perforated cardboard, of the coarsest variety, and cut it 
into two similar pieces, live by seven inches in size. 
With double zephyr, work an initial or some simple de- 
sign on one of the pieces only, as the other will form the 
back of the case. Then get half-a-dozen sheets of differ- 
ent colored tissue-paper, and cut them up into pieces the 
exact size of the case. When all are fitted, place them 
between the two covers, and ask some lady in the family 
to sew them together at the top ; fasten a ribbon of the 
same color as the worsted to each top corner for a handle, 
and cover the points of juncture with tiny bows. A little 
boy in the writer's family made one of these for a dear 
uncle, and it lasted him a year without replenishing, 
forming one of the most useful presents he received. 



LEATHER WORK. 

How many of my young readers have seen the beauti- 
ful shoes, boxes, and saddle-cloths, made of leather or 
velvet, and appliqued with thinner leather, in graceful 



124 LEATHER WORK. 

traceries, which are occasionally brought over to this 
country from Russia % These are mostly the work of the 
women and children of the smaller Russian villages, and 
in many instances their only means of support. 

In those cold, desolate regions, where summer is very 
short, and the long dreary winter extends over a greater 
part of their lives, their occupations necessarily must be 
such as can be carried on in-doors, and are in many in- 
stances executed in their own homes. Hence the children 
seeing the simple, processes going on around them, soon 
learn to help, and long before they have reached the age 
when American boys begin to think of working, they are 
earning their own living, and frequently supporting others 
of the family by their industry. 

Although leather work to a Russian boy is anything 
but play, to a bright American it will be a source of con- 
siderable pleasure, and will serve the same purpose of 
amusement and instruction, for which most of the things 
in this book are intended. 

The materials for leather work are very simple, consist- 
ing of the waste scraps from the neighboring book-binders 
or shoe-makers ; these can be chosen without regard to 
shape or size. 

To do the kind of work spoken of above, and known as 
"Kasanwork," select the thinner kid pieces from your 
leather, and with a lead -pencil mark upon the wrong side 



LEATHER WORK. 125 

any design you may fancy. Then with a pair of sharp- 
pointed scissors cut out the design, carefully following 
the lines, and making the edges smooth and even. 
Lastly, wet the back with a little glue or paste, and stick 
it upon the cloth. Care should be taken not to move the 
pattern after it touches the cloth, as the glue might be- 
smear the material in the open places of the pattern, and 
thus ruin the effect. After this has partially dried, get 
your mother or sister to stitch the edges on the machine, 
and you will have a nice bit of material, suitable for a 
shoe-bag or any other useful object you may like. 

Another kind of leather work which is better adapted 
for boys, and a much more fascinating process than the 
above, is called by the French name " Cuir Bouilli " — 
pronounced "queer bwea" — or boiled leather. The 
scraps already gathered are suitable for this work, as any 
kind of leather can be used, although the softer kinds, 
such as sheep or calf skin, work much more easily. Soak 
this in hot alum water until it is soft, remembering that 
thick, tough leather requires a much longer time, as well 
as a hotter and stronger solution to soften, than the thin- 
ner pieces you may have. After this leather has been re- 
duced to mere pulp, press it into any mold you may have 
at hand, taking care that it is pressed into all the cavities. 
After it is partially dried, in two or three days, remove 
the mold, and you have your object in firm hard leather 



120 LEATHER WORK. 

which can be painted or varnished as yon like. Many- 
toys for yonr yonnger brothers and sisters can be made 
in this way, and are quite indestructible. Should you 
chance to have a good-sized piece of skin, much prettier 
things could be made from it, although a good worker in 
leather will use his scraps as the boy in his papier-mache 
uses his bits of paper, pasting them so nicely that no one 
would guess the number of pieces used. The best paste 
for this work is made of dextrine, a cheap substance, 
easily procured at any apothecary's. 

A PANEL OF LEATHER WORK. 

As this is one of the simplest forms into which leather 
can be wrought, and one that probably gives the most 
satisfaction when completed, perhaps the description of a 
dining room panel, made by the writer' s little son, may 
afford more real assistance to the reader than any general 
rales which could be given for the work. 

He had a sheet of calf-skin, nine by fourteen inches, 
which he soaked in warm alum water till it was very soft 
and pliable. Before this, however, he had prepared his 
foundation, which consisted of a thick piece of pasteboard 
six by twelve inches. Upon this was nailed or glued a 
simple design of a duck hanging by its legs, which he had 
drawn upon a thin slab of wood— a cigar-box cover, I 
think — and had cut out with a scroll-saw. Before tack- 



LEATHER WORK. 127 

ing this on, he rounded off the edges of the figure on the 
right side with his 'jackknife, and using an old newspaper 
and a little paste, he built out the body of the bird, mold- 
ing it with his fingers and an old ivory paper-cutter until 
he obtained the desired shape. After this had dried he 
covered his soaked leather with the dextrine paste, and 
laid it evenly on the form. Beginning at the middle of 
the panel, he carefully pressed the wet leather upon the 
figure, using the dull edge of the paper-cutter for the 
lines and deep places left in the foundation ; always 
working from the center toward the edge, and taking 
particular care that each part was firmly attached to the 
wood. After the bird was done to his satisfaction, he 
proceeded to stamp over the whole background, using for 
this purpose an old office-seal which was at hand. In re- 
gard to the stamp, any ingenious boy can easily make a 
good substitute, by taking a piece of hard wood with a 
flat end, and cutting it across in paralM lines, re -cross 
these lines with other parallel ones, forming a surface of 
even diamond -work upon the wood. This, when pressed 
upon the wet leather, makes a very agreeable background 
for almost any figure you may like. A wet sponge must 
be constantly applied to the leather while working, to 
prevent its drying too rapidly. After the surface was 
well covered with the stamping, the leather was again 
rubbed with paste and pressed over the edge of the paste- 



128 TO TELL THE HOUR OF THE DAT BY THE LEFT HAND. 

board background ; tiny triangular pieces were snipped 
from the corners to allow of their lying quite flat on the 
under-side. Finally, the whole thing was firmly glued 
upon a black- walnut slab bought for that purpose. This 
panel is the natural color of the leather, but they are fre- 
quently stained black, and for that purpose the " ebony 
black stain" is the best material to use; but it is not 
necessary that they should be black ; any color can be 
used, the beautiful bronze powders making very fine 
effects. 



TO TELL THE HOUR OF THE DAY BY THE 
LEFT HAND. 

For the benefit of those boys who make frequent excur- 
sions into the woods, or away from the sight and sound 
of town clocks and bells, I write the following, which 
I found in an old book published early in the present 
century : 

Extend the left hand in a horizontal position, so that 
the inside shall be turned toward the sky ; then take a 
bit of straw or wood, and place it at right angles at the 
joint, between the thumb and the forefinger. It must be 
equal in length to the distance from that joint to the end 
of the forefinger, and must be held upright, as represented 



TO TELL THE HOUR OF THE DAY BT THE LEFT HAND. 129 

in the figure at a. Now turn the bottom of the thumb 
toward the sun, the hand being extended till the shadow 
of the muscle which is below the thumb terminates at the 
line of life, marked c. If the wrist or bottom of the hand 
be then turned toward the sun, the fingers being kept 
equally extended, the shadow of the bit of straw or stick 
will indicate the hour. 

When the shadow falls on the tip of the forefinger, it 
denotes five in the morning, or seven in the evening ; at 




the end of the middle finger, it denotes six in the morn- 
ing or evening ; at the end of the next finger, seven in the 
morning, or five in the evening ; at the end of the little 
finger, eight in the morning, or four in the afternoon. At 
the nearest joint of the little finger, nine in the morning, 
or three in the afternoon ; at the next joint of the little 
finger, ten in the morning, or two in the afternoon ; at the 
root of the little finger, eleven in the morning, or one in 

5 



130 STENCILS. 

the afternoon ; in the last place where the shadow falls, 
on that line of the hand marked d, which is called the 
table line, it will indicate twelve o'clock at noon. 



STENCILS. 



A dozen or more years ago I saw an advertisement from 
a Boston firm, of a package, to be had for the small sum 
of twenty-five cents, which contained several devices for 
entertaining children. As the advertisement seemed at- 
tractive, I sent for the article, and received by return 
mail a small box, which certainly contained all one could 
reasonably expect for the money. Many of the smaller 
things I have forgotten, but the idea of cutting stencils 
was so good, and gave the children of our family so much 
pleasure, that I insert a few simple designs, and give di- 
rections for cutting, hoping they may amuse the little 
ones of other families as agreeably as those of ours. 

These designs, which require considerable care in the 
tracing, should be first drawn upon tracing-paper, or some 
stiff, thin paper, with a sharp-pointed lead-pencil ; then, 
this being securely attached to a piece of thin bristol- 
board, or a common business-card, carefully cut the de- 
sign, leaving the edges smooth and even. Particular 
care should be taken to cut all the useless bits of paper 



STENCILS. 133 

from the pattern. After a little practice, children learn 
to make designs for themselves, and enjoy it much more 
than following those given by others. It is, however, 
necessary that they should use those supplied at first, so 
as to understand just how the lines are to be cut. 

After the design has been carefully cut out, take a 
smooth piece of white paper, fold it through the middle ; 
now fold again, bringing the ends of the first crease to- 
gether; fold once more, making the last crease to fall 
upon the same line as the other two, and your paper will 
be in shape like the letter V, Fig. 1. Be sure that b, in 



Fig. 1, forms a perfect point. Now lay the pattern on 
your folded paper, letting a, Fig. 2, fall upon b, Fig. 1, 
and taking care that the edges of the pattern fall evenly 
upon the folds of the paper. Cut the paper out, follow- 
ing the lines of the design. After the black portions 



134 



STENCILS. 



have all been cut away, open your folded form, and 
you will have a very pretty stencil, which can be used in 
decorating your playthings, or for the various other pur- 




poses stencils are so extensively employed. One little 
friend of mine used to paste all his finest specimens on 




square pieces of black cloth, and after he had a good- 
sized collection, he had the pieces sewed together in the 



STENCILS. 



135 



form of a book. On the cover he pasted the word ' ' Sten- 
cil " and his initials, all cut from white paper ; and it was 
a never-failing source of pleasure to him to show this 




little work, declaring proudly as he did so, "I did it all 
myself with my own little pair of scissors." These sten- 




cils could be cut from variously colored papers and then 
pasted upon ordinary note ; the whole being caught to- 



136 



STENCILS. 



gether with a piece of ribbon. A book would be the re- 
sult, which, if not prettier, would be less cumbersome 
than my little friend' s, and would probably give full as 
much satisfaction, besides being much easier to make. If 
you will carefully examine the inside decorations of many 
of our fine public buildings, you will see that much of the 
work is put on with stencils ; and by looking still more 
carefully, you can learn just how these stencils are made ; 




and from them gain ideas for your own designs, which will 
aid you very materially in any decoration you may try. 
It is not expected that a boy has judgment or skill suffi- 
cient to decorate an important room, but if you would like 
to try the experiment, you may be able to persuade your 
parents to allow you to try your hand at something of 
the kind in an unused garret room. But even in this, do 
not begin at hap-hazard. Study all the designs you can 



STENCILS. 137 

find, and note the effect of the colors on each other and 
upon the color of the wall itself. Choose some simple, 
open pattern at first, and do not use more than two colors 
in putting it on the wall. The fresco paint, or kalsomine, 
comes in a powder, with full directions for using printed 
on each package. It is put on with a short, thick brush ; 
and is patted on through the stencil. For stenciling, the 
paint or kalsomine must be mixed much thicker than for 




an ordinary wash, and it is best to have your stencil pat- 
tern, after it is perfected to your taste, cut from a piece 
of tin, if a tinman is near at hand. After the walls have 
received their share of decoration, it would be well to 
paint the door to match, using some appropriate oblong 
stencil for the panels, and applying it with oil paint. In 
such things it is very easy to overload the work, and by 
putting on too much spoil the effect ; so care and judg- 



138 LIGHT PRODUCED BT FRICTION UNDER WATER. 

ment must be exercised to know at just what point to 
stop, as well as to avoid daubiness and an uneven char- 
acter to your work. 



LIGHT PRODUCED BY FRICTION UNDER 
WATER, 

If you should rub two squares of cut-loaf sugar to- 
gether in a dark room, light would result from the fric- 
tion ; but the effect is produced in a much greater degree 
by two pieces of silex or quartz ; and if two pieces of a 
fine quality of quartz be forcibly rubbed together, you 
may distinguish the time of night by a watch ; but what 
is more surprising, the same effect is produced equally 
strong on rubbing the pieces together under water. 

In olden times, before matches were invented, fire for 
all purposes was produced by means of friction ; a piece 
of flint and one of steel being the substances used, and a 
tin box of charred linen rags, called tinder, received the 
sparks which fell from the steel. 

Many years ago, when your great-grandmothers were 
children, in many New England communities a cow's 
horn, sawed across the top, and fitted with a wooden stop- 
per, was used to hold the tinder, but later, the more 
stylish and luxurious tinder-box took its place. This 
box, made of tin, and somewhat larger and deeper than a 



LIGHT PRODUCED BY FRICTION UNDER WATER. 139 

good-sized blacking-box of to-day was fitted with an in- 
side cover, a simple disk of tin with a ring of wire in the 
top for a handle, and was filled with a quantity of cot- 
ton or linen rags, which were set on fire with a brand from 
the hearth. When this burning cloth had reached a black 
color, but before it was reduced to ashes, the inside cover 
was let down upon it, and the flames were extinguished. 
After this, another outside cover was put on the box to 
prevent dampness penetrating, and thus rendering the 
tinder worthless. To insure further protection against 
the intruding damp, the box, with its companions of flint 
and steel, were generally kept in the chimney closet 
beside the fire-place. 

In those primitive days of our country, it was a very 
common thing for a farmer's wife to run into a neighbor's 
and borrow some one of these necessary articles, and it 
was usually the tinder, which she had neglected to pre- 
pare when fire was plenty, that was the thing needed. 
Occasionally, when two or three houses were near to- 
gether and the inmates on friendly terms with each 
other, one set would answer the demands of the neigh- 
borhood, and would be used by all with equal freeness. 
Later on, each family made their own matches, by sim- 
ply dipping bits of wood into melted sulphur, and allow- 
ing it to dry on the end. These matches were kept in 
another tin box, and when the spark had ignited the 



140 LIGHT PRODUCED BY FRICTION UNDER WATER. 

tinder, the sulphur end was touched to the smoldering 
fire, and would immediately burst into flame. 

Before these matches were invented, however, when the 
housewife wished to make her fire (stoves were of course 
unknown), she would seat herself near the fire-place, and, 
grasping the uncovered horn or box between her knees, 
would hold her steel in her left hand just above it, and 
with the flint or quartz in her right, would strike upon 
the former, till two or three sparks fell upon the charred 
surface ; the bit of glowing tinder would then be carefully 
taken from the box, wrapped around with a bit of rag, 
and blown upon with her breath until the cloth burst into 
flames. A candle was quickly lighted from this, to keep 
the flame till the fire was well under way. 

Every boy has probably felt the inconvenience of being 
without matches, when a fire on the beach in summer, or 
near the skating-pond in winter, would have been such a 
luxury. The next time the emergency occurs, strike a 
piece of quartz or hard white stone upon the large blade 
of your jackknife, over any bit of dry cotton or thin 
paper you may have at hand, as a tinder-box would prob- 
ably not form part even of the very miscellaneous collec- 
tion of the average school-boy's pockets. 



HOW TO SKELETONIZE LEAVES. 141 

EXPERIMENT WITH FLOWER-SEEDS. 

Split a small twig of the elder-bush lengthwise, and hav- 
ing scooped out the pith, fill each of the compartments 
with seeds of flowers of different colors, but which blos- 
som about the same time. Surround them with mold, 
and then tying together the two bits of wood, plant the 
whole in a pot filled with earth, properly prepared. The 
stems of the different flowers will thus be so incorporated 
as to exhibit to the eye only one stem, throwing out 
branches covered with flowers of different colors, anal- 
agous to the seed which produced them. If the plants 
are somewhat alike in the texture of their stems, and ger- 
minate at about the same period, there will be less danger 
of the strong choking the weak. 



HOW TO SKELETONIZE LEAVES. 

Among the many desirable subjects for photographic 
printing, none are more satisfactory or so delicate as a 
graceful arrangement of skeletonized leaves. It may be 
very simple, and composed of only three or four leaflets ; 
or it may be so elaborate as to embrace specimens 
from trees and weeds, wild flowers and garden shrubs ; 
while the beautiful seed-pods and grasses, readily found 



142 HOW TO SKELETONIZE LEAVES. 

in our fields or along our brooklets, answer for the blos- 
soms in this dainty, fairy-like bouquet. 

The methods employed in freeing leaves from their 
pulpy element, or cellular tissue, as it is more properly 
called, are very unlike, as practiced by different individ- 
uals ; but the following, given the author by a lady friend 
who has a large and extremely beautiful collection of re- 
markably fine specimens, is very simple, and can be prac- 
ticed with success by a boy or girl of ten. 

Take a wash-bowl, and fill it half full of soft water, into 
which a heaping teaspoonful of baking soda should be 
thrown ; place this in a sunny window, or one with a 
southern exposure if possible, and put in your leaves ; 
care must be taken that they are all under water, and not 
too crowded, although three or four dozen can safely be 
done at a time. Any leaf which has a firm, well-defined 
frame- work will make a good specimen. The leaves of 
the horse-chestnut, maple, silver-leaf catalpa, and magno- 
lia ; those of the currant, pear, English ivy, and plum, 
all make fine skeletons, and many delicate seed-covers, 
like those of the strawberry-tomato, are very easily 
treated. Bo not confine yourself to this list, however, 
but try any which resemble these in texture, as a great 
variety is particularly desirable, if you would have a good 
collection. 

After you have put your leaves to soak in the soda- 



ROW TO 8KELET0NIZE LEAVES. 143 

water, leave them in the sun for three weeks, as that is 
the shortest time in which any will do. Then look them 
carefully over, and should any be found nearly free from 
their tissues, take them out, and wash them off in a bowl 
of clean water ; then with a soft brush liberate any tiny 
particle that may still adhere to the frame -work, as any 
blemish of this kind is considered a defect in the spec- 
imen. 

During this process, be careful to retain the fine thread- 
like bit of fiber that entirely encircles the leaf and forms 
an outside frame-work or edge. If it is found impossible 
to entirely clean the skeleton by aid of the brush, it 
should be put in a bowl or saucer of clean water and left 
in the sun for two or three days longer. When they are 
thoroughly cleaned, place them between the leaves of an 
old book, and lay them aside until the time for bleaching. 

If you live in or near the latitude of New York, the 
best time to collect and treat your leaves is in June, while 
they are still fresh and tender, and before the insects have 
destroyed their shape ; but should your home be further 
south, April or May would be a better time. 

After your collection is complete, and all are dry, they 
will be much improved by bleaching. This process is 
also very simple, consisting, as it does, of merely dipping 
them in a weak solution of chloride of lime, and letting 
them remain there until the proper color is attained ; then 



144 CAMERA OBSCURA. 

by slipping a piece of unglazed paper — ribbon paper is 
best for this purpose — beneath the surface of the water, 
and bringing it up with the leaf lying flat upon it, the 
skeleton can easily be taken from the water. 

If the form is not inclined to spread out on the paper as 
it should, take a long slender darning-needle, and with 
the point carefully arrange it to your satisfaction. An- 
other drying is now necessary, but the bleached leaves 
should be left on the ribbon paper, which may be put 
between the leaves of a book as before. 

These can be kept for years, and should you be success- 
ful and obtain a number of perfect specimens, they will 
form a very valuable addition to your materials for 
Christmas gifts, and, prettily arranged, a very acceptable 
present to any dear friend. 



CAMERA OBSCURA. 

Camera Obscura, a Latin name, meaning literally a 
dark chamber, belongs to an instrument invented by 
Baptista Porta in the sixteenth century. 

The principle involved in the simplest and most refined 
forms is the same, and may be illustrated by the following 
experiment : Let a small hole be cut in an opaque win- 
dow-shade, and the room darkened. If, now, the beam 



CAMERA OB SCUBA. 



145 



of light entering the room by this hole be intercepted by 
a sheet of white paper, held at a small distance from the 
hole, an inverted image of objects without will be seen 
upon the paper. By placing a small convex lens over the 
hole this image is rendered much more distinct. It will 
also be found, that at a certain distance from the hole 
the image attains the sharpest or clearest outline, and 
that if the paper be removed from this point to any posi- 




tion either nearer to the hole or further from it, the image 
becomes indistinct and confused. At the point of great- 
est clearness the image is said to be focused. Such being 
the principle of the camera, it is evident that in practice 
the instrument may assume many forms, provided always 
that it consists of a darkened box or chamber, having a 
hole at one end for the insertion of a lens or combination 
of lenses, and at the other a screen, generally made of 
ground glass, on which to receive the image. One of the 



146 CAMERA OBSCUBA. 

first home-made cameras I remember seeing was con- 
structed by a boy friend many years ago. In it lie nsed 
a lens from an old ship's spy-glass, which still remained 
incased in its brass tube. Fig. 1 gives a view of this form 
of camera. As every boy is not as fortunate as my friend 
in having a brass mounting for his lens, it would be well 
to inclose it in a small tube of papier-mache or paste- 
board, so that it may be moved in or out of the opening 
at will. The box itself was made of cigar-box wood, with 
the cover sawed in two parts. After the hole had been 
cut at one end and the lens inserted, a piece of looking- 
glass was placed obliquely across the lower corner of the 
other end of the box, the longer piece of the cover nailed 
on the front part of the top, and a piece of ground glass 
carefully fitted, with the ground side downward, over the 




remaining open space ; the smaller part of the cover was 
then fastened on one side with small pieces of tape. 
When not in use, this little cover fell down over the 
glass, but when any object was to be viewed the little lid 
was lifted into the position in the cut, and served as a 



CAMERA OBSCURA. 



149 



shield to the ground glass beneath. A piece of black 
cloth thrown over this cover, and allowed to fall over the 
triangular side-openings, so as to still further prevent 
outside light from reaching the ground glass, is a great 
improvement. 

In the diagram, the dotted lines show the course of the 
light from the object in view, through the lens (where the 
rays cross each other) to the looking-glass, and thence to 
the ground glass above. 



A SIMPLER FORM OF THE CAMERA OBSCURA. 

A simpler form of the camera obscura is seen in Fig. 2. 
Here the case is a small soap or spice box, the lens a con- 




vex spectacle-glass, and the board marked b a partition, 
serving as a screen upon which the image is thrown. In 
this form the lens may be fixed in the end of the box if 
desired, which is much easier than adjusting it in a slid- 
ing tube. The focal distance of an ordinary spectacle- 
glass averages about twelve or fourteen inches, and the 
box should be, of course, somewhat longer than the focal 



150 CAMERA OB SCUBA. 

m 

length of the glass used. A glass from "near-sighted" 
spectacles will not do, as it is concave instead of convex. 

The box is now pointed out of the window, at some 
well-marked object, such as a sun-lighted building, and 
the partition-board moved backward and forward, till the 
point is found at which the image on it is best defined. 
Then the board may be fastened (as a, b, c, d, Fig. 2) 
and the top put on, of which the end should be cut off 
about four inches from the screen, as shown in the figure. 

A piece of black cloth thrown over the head, and com- 
pletely covering the ends of the opening, renders the 
image more distinct. 

THE SKETCHING CAMERA. 

This form of camera may be also used for sketching 
from nature, by raising it on end, and providing it with 




an inclined mirror, as shown in Fig. 4. The opening a, b, 



CAMERA OBSCURA. 151 

c, d, should in this case be sufficiently large to admit easy- 
play of the hand in sketching, and also allow an unob- 
structed view of the image. The mirror may be prepared 
without much difficulty. Get the glazier to cut for you a 
piece of looking-glass three or four inches square, and 
cover the back with a piece of thick paper or card, to 
prevent scratching ; then take a wire of sufficient length, 
and double it as in A ; now bend this double wire in the 




form of B, letting the ends com 3 at a and b, and placing 
your mirror, face downward, upon the frame as in C; hold 
it in place by two bands of strong paper, passed around 
the glass and wires, and pasted strongly on the back, at 
the top and bottom of the mirror. When in use this 
frame is placed over the lens, and reflects the image down 
upon the drawing-paper placed on the screen below. The 
four round-headed screws in the top are intended for at- 
taching an opaque curtain to the box, which, however, is 
only needed when the artist is working in the open air. 
Then the dark curtain is buttoned in place, and falls over 



152 CAMERA OBSCURA. 

the head and shoulders, completely shielding the image 
from any invading rays of light which might otherwise 
confuse the draughtsman. 

As a matter of fact, in using the sketching camera, it is 
necessary to turn one's back to the objects sketched, if it 
is desired to draw them in an upright position. I have 
represented the artist facing the house, as it would look 
strangely in the illustration to see him seated with his 
back to the view ; but he is compelled, in consequence, to 
draw his house, sister, and everything else which is in- 
cluded in the image thrown upon his papir upside down, 
as a penalty for appearances. 



THE DARKENED ROOM. 

To those boys living in the country, and having a wide, 
extended landscape stretched out before their windows, 
the "darkened room" is a very interesting feature. It 
simply requires a room which can be made perfectly dark. 
At the window (if there are more than one) commanding 
the broadest prospect have a perfectly tight, opaque 
screen fitted, with a small hole cut in the lower part for 
the insertion of the lens. Over this fasten a small mirror 
to receive the image, at such an angle as will throw the 
reflection down upon a stand placed two or three feet 
from the window, and thus make it possible for the spec- 



CAMERA OBSCURA. 153 

tator to view the scene in its normal condition. Should 
you be desirous of having the whole sweep of the horizon 
at your command in the darkened room, a simply con- 
structed frame- work is necessary for the accommodation 
of the movable mirror, and also for the lens ; this would 
further necessitate the cutting of a larger hole in the cur- 
tain. Fig. 5 represents this arrangement ; a being the 




Fiq-5 



movable lens, which can be readily taken from its socket 
if desired ; b, the hole in the bottom of the bracket, which 
should correspond to a larger hole in the shelf d, upon 
which the bracket rests, and can be easily turned in any 
direction desired. This hole should be large enough to 
allow the passage of all the diverging rays, and c, a small 
mirror, fitted like the one for the sketching camera just 
described, to receive the image and reflect it down through 
b upon the stand, or a sheet placed upon the floor for the 
screen. The height of the shelf d from the floor is deter- 
mined by the focal length of the lens, and must be de- 
cided by experiment before the hole is cut in the shade. 
It is fastened in place by strings attached to small screw- 



154 PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING. 

eyes at its corners, and tied npon tacks driven into the 
window- frame. The arrangement shown in Fig. 5 can be 
moved on the shelf, so as to face the lens toward any por- 
tion of the view commanded by the window. 



PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING. 

If all boys are not so fortunate as to possess a camera, 
there is no reason why they should be debarred from all 
the pleasures of photography ; and as there is much en- 
tertainment to be derived from this simple amusement, it 
is advisable for every boy throughout the land who is old 
enough to give it a fair trial. The first thing needed is a 
frame for holding the print while it is being exposed. 
This can be made by an ingenious boy, but as it is a rather 
troublesome job, it is better to buy a small transparent 
slate for five or ten cents, and discarding the copies, use 
the frame and glass for your work. The sensitized paper 
should next be prepared. This can be bought at any 
place where photographers' supplies are to be found ; 
many boys, however, are too far away from our great 
cities to have access to such stores, and even those who 
have will find more delight in making it for themselves. 
There is a great satisfaction in the feeling of perfect inde- 
pendence, and the more we can do for ourselves with- 



PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING. 155 

out aid or hinderance from the world at large, the nearer 
we come to the ideal state. So, presuming that every boy 
has this independent spirit well ingrained in his nature, I 
will give two formulas for this kind of paper, and leave it 
to the reader to decide for himself which he will use. 
The first produces a negative impression ; that is, one in 
which all the parts that are dark in the copy come out 
light in the print, and vice versa ; and the second makes 
a positive print, or one in which all the shadings remain 
the same as in the original. 

FIKST PKOCESS. 

Paper by this process is very easily prepared as fol- 
lows : Make two solutions : 

1st. — Water, 1 ounce. 

Prussiate of potash, 60 grains. 

2d. — Water, 1 ounce. 

Ammonia citrate of iron, 70 grains. 

When these are dissolved, mix them together, and pour 
them through a piece of filter-paper into a tumbler, and 
then into a clean glass bottle. If filter-paper cannot be 
had, nice clean cotton wool answers the purpose nearly as 
well. This solution should be kept and also used in a 
dark room. To sensitize the paper, pour out a little of 



156 , PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING. 

the liquid into a saucer ; then having cut note-paper into 
rectangular pieces, a trifle smaller than the glass in your 
frame, take one of these pieces at a time, and place it 
evenly upon the surface of the liquid ; let it lie in this 
position until it is flat and not inclined to curl. Now take 
it out by one corner, and thrusting a pin through this 
point, drive it lightly into the edge of a shelf in your 
dark room, and leave it to dry. It is now ready for use ; 
should any be left after printing, roll it up and place it 
in a tin box which has a cover, to keep it from the light 
and dampness. To print on this paper, place your glass 
in the frame, and next to it any engraving you may fancy, 
provided it is printed on thin paper and has no type on 
its back. If a copy is desired precisely like the original, 
place the engraving face downward on the glass, but if a 
reverse is wished, that is, one in which all the objects in 
the original are turned about, and its left side is to cor- 
respond to the right in your print, then place it with its 
face toward you in the frame. When this is adjusted to 
your satisfaction, take the frame to your dark closet, and 
put in your sensitized paper, being careful to cover it 
closely with the back of the frame well fastened in place 
before bringing it to the light. Place the frame, glass 
side upward, on a window-ledge, or in any place where it 
will be exposed to the free rays of the sun, and let it re- 
main until it is printed to the desired depth. It will be 



PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING. 157 

noticed that at first the light changes the portions ex- 
posed to a bluish color; the operation, however, is not 
finished at this stage, but must be continued long enough 
to turn these portions a deep metallic gray. Care must 
be exercised in examining the print, that the paper is not 
moved from its position relative to the copy to be printed ; 
with the above frame this will be a very delicate matter, 
and it is doubtful if it can be successfully done. A better 
way would be to make one or two prints, without caring 
for accuracy of form, but simply with a view of obtain- 
ing a good color, and time the operation ; this would form 
a sort of basis from which to work. If some subsequent 
engraving was upon thicker paper, it would take a some- 
what longer time to print it, and if on thinner paper, the 
time required would be proportionately shorter. It would 
be a great source of convenience if the back could be cut 
in two equal parts, and a piece of canton flannel be pasted 
over both, joining them as they were at first. This with 
the soft side outward will keep the paper from slipping, 
and act as a hinge to either half. Now instead of one 
fastening, two will be required, one on either half of the 
cover ; if then you wish to examine your print, you have 
only to open one end of your frame, and carefully lift up 
the edge of the paper, while the other end, remaining 
firmly closed, holds the whole thing in place. 
After your print has reached the proper degree of color, 



158 PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING. 

take it out and immerse it in clean water, when it will be- 
come a rich blue, except those parts which are to remain 
white. Change the water once or twice, or until every 
part comes out distinctly ; then take it from the bath and 
dry between sheets of blotting-paper. 

The second way to prepare paper consists in washing 
good letter-paper with the following solution : 

Bichromate of potash, 10 grains. 
Sulphurate of copper, 20 grains. 
Water, 1 ounce. 

Papers prepared with this are of a pale yellow color ; 
they may be kept any length of time in a tin box, and are 
always ready for use. For copying engravings, the wings 
of dragon-flies, or of cicadas, the beautiful skeletonized 
leaves or delicate ferns, arranged in tiny bouquets on the 
inner surface of the ground glass, this paper is excellent. 

After it has been exposed to the influence of the sun- 
shine, take the frame to your dark closet, and after re- 
moving the print, wash it over with a solution of nitrate 
of silver of moderate strength. As soon as this is done, a 
very vivid positive picture makes its appearance, and all 
the "fixing " it requires is well washing in pure water. 

The dark closet spoken of above is necessary in all 
kinds of photography, as light let in upon the sensitized 
paper would darken the whole surface. To make a 



PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING. 159 

" dark room," stop the upper part of the window with 
any opaque substance, and pin a ]arge sheet of dark 
orange paper over the lower sash. The yellow paper 
used in making envelopes is excellent for this, but if it 
cannot be found, four sheets of tissue-paper, two red 
and two. yellow, placed over each other, answer the pur- 
pose very well. 

A friend of the writer utilizes an old disused chicken- 
house for his dark room, and it answers its purpose capi- 
tally, while it was at the window of this little room I first 
saw the tissue-paper successfully used. 

The prints used for copy might be rendered more trans- 
lucent by rubbing them over with a little linseed oil 
mixed with turpentine. This, of course, should be thor- 
ough] y dried before it is used in connection with the 
sensitized paper. 

A great number of graceful, pretty things can be pho- 
tographed in this manner ; the delicate maiden-hair fern, 
so common in several parts of our country ; the fine, 
feathery leaves of many of our wild flowers, some of the 
finer flowers themselves, and many of the beautiful 
mosses and sea-weeds after they are pressed, make ex- 
quisite little photographs, worthy of a place in any col- 
lection. 

A dozen or more of these prints carefully taken, pressed, 
and trimmed, would make a pretty Christmas present to 



160 THE TOT PANORAMA. 

a dear friend. The cover could be of plain paper, with 
the name of the person for whom it was intended neatly 
written upon the top, an appropriate sentiment on the 
middle, and the donor's name with the date upon the 
lower part of the page. 

The stencils, for the making of which full directions are 
given in another part of this book, make very fine sub- 
jects for photographs. If intended for this purpose, how- 
ever, they should be of a slender, delicate pattern, small 
in size, and cut with extreme care. A snow-flake caught 
upon a black surface, and examined in a cold room, will 
furnish many suggestions for stencils designed for copy. 



THE TOY PANORAMA. 

The modern stereopticon has almost entirely superseded 
the old-fashioned panorama, so popular a quarter of a 
century ago. 

Your parents will probably remember with what delight 
those itinerant exhibitions were greeted by the young 
people of those days ; how the very handbills, those won- 
derful precursors of so many entertaining spectacles, were 
studied and commented upon, and when the happy day 
came, how we all rejoiced to see the manager enter the 
school-house door, and after a few words with the teacher, 



THE TOT PANORAMA 



161 



address the school, and offer to us children an afternoon 
exhibition, for the trifling sum of ten cents apiece, if 
enough could be induced to attend. 

The panoramas the writer remembers most vividly oc- 
curred during the war of the Rebellion, and as the sub- 




jects of the paintings were of a very patriotic character, 
we had little difficulty in urging our parents to permit us 
to go ; and the afternoon session of the school was gladly 
sacrificed for so good a cause. 
The battle of the Monitor and Merrimac, was a fa- 



162 THE TOT PANORAMA. 

vorite subject, and, as the vessels moved to and fro, and 
sent forth from their tiny port-holes volleys of real fire 
and smoke, while a big drum, out of sight, gave forth the 
answering boom, the scene was very impressive, and 
struck a kind of fascinating terror to our childish hearts. 

After the many accounts and fine illustrations which 
subsequent readings have given, at the simple mention of 
that famous battle, my mind instantly wanders back to 
the darkened hall, filled with boys and girls, all intently 
gazing at the sham battle in progress before them ; while 
far back in the rear end of the hall stood the two brass 
field-pieces, captured from Burgoyne at the battle of 
Saratoga, nearly a hundred years before, grim and awful, 
and silently waiting for the time when they should be 
called to take their place in the mighty conflict then so 
fiercely raging in our land.* 

But finally the, war ceased ; and after all, the only part 
the old cannon played was to thunder forth resoundings 
of joy, which shook our old town to its very foundations, 
when peace was again restored. 

Although children's hearts will never again be glad- 
dened by these great, clumsy shows, there is no reason 
why the little toy panorama should also be banished from 

*This building was erected for an armory, but served the purpose of 
town-hall as well. 



THE TOY PANORAMA. 



163 



among us. The mere delight of making it is sufficient 
reason for its existence, and when it is once finished it 
will continue to be a source of enjoyment to each little 
member of the household in turn. 

The simplest form this can have is represented in Fig. 
1, the foundation being a small soap-box, the rollers, sec- 



£ 



Fif-3 



tl 



tions of a broomstick, with small wooden pins glued into 
each end, which extend through holes made in the box 
for that purpose. The pictures, taken from any illus- 
trated paper, are all cut the same width, about an inch 
narrower than the length of the rollers, and pasted to- 
gether at their ends, the only limit to the length of this 
strip being the capacity of the box. 



164 



THE TOT PANORAMA. 



When the paste is dry, attach an end to each roller. It 
is necessary that the upper peg of each roller be also 
fitted with a strong crank, as an even motion is requisite 
for the proper display of the pictures ; and this crank can 
be made in two ways : first, like Fig. 2, where a piece of 



Tis-2 





wood is nicely fitted and glued on the pin, or like Fig. 3, 
which is the better arrangement, where a stiff wire is bent 
into the shape «, and then passed through two holes 
pierced through the crank-pin as shown at b ; this ar- 
rangement securing the needful firmness, the projecting 
ends of the wire are then bent, the upper one upward, 
the lower downward, so completing the crank. 

After the mechanical part of the panorama is finished 
so that it runs smoothly, two strips of stiff pasteboard 
can be fastened over the front, corresponding to the 
dotted lines a and b in Fig. 1, which will hide the rollers 
and give a neater appearance to the whole. If liked, a 
second piece of the pasteboard can be cut, in length cor- 
responding to the width of the box, and wide enough to 



A MORE ELABORATE PANORAMA. 165 

cover the cranks, and extend down to the top of the 
pictures. 

When exhibiting the pictures, place the box on a table 
with its front well lighted, turned toward the audience, 
and turn the pictures slowly, by an even motion of the 
cranks, pausing slightly at each scene, at the same time 
giving, if possible, a brief description of the thing illus- 
trated, as this will add considerably to the enjoyment of 
the little folks. I forgot to add, in its proper place, that 
for a final finish the whole thing should be covered with 
any pretty paper at hand. Mce wall-paper or even com- 
mon brown wrapping-paper gives it a neat appearance. 



A MORE ELABORATE PANORAMA. 

Having thoroughly mastered the construction of the 
simpler form of the panorama, a more elaborate one can 
be made by simply devoting to it considerably more time 
and attention ; but as this is greatly superior to the other 
in every respect, it is well worth the extra trouble. 

This will necessarily require a much larger box than the 
one previously described. For convenience in descrip- 
tion, suppose we have a soap-box two feet long, twelve 
inches high, and eighteen inches wide. We shall first 
take away both top and bottom, then standing it upon its 



166 



A MORE ELABORATE PANORAMA. 



side, we have the frame-work of our structure, which is 
still two feet long, but now eighteen inches high, and 
twelve inches deep, that is from front to back ; next, we 



Fio-2 




cut from the discarded top a false bottom, or shelf, like 
Fig. 2, which, if your box is of seven-eighths inch ma- 
terial, will measure twenty-two and a quarter, by eight 
inches. Mark the point a, four inches from one side of 
the board, and equidistant from the ends ; through this 
draw the line b c, five inches long on each side of a, or ten 
inches in all ; mark at three and one-half inches from the 
ends of the board the points d and e, and draw the lines 
b d and c e ; then cut out the piece thus marked off. 

The holes at the bottom for the rollers are four and 
one-half inches from the back / g, in order to insure that 
the line of pictures when in motion shall not fall back 
from the line b c, and are equidistant from the ends of 
the board and the oblique lines b d and c e, to secure as 
much room as possible for the roll. Make corresponding 



A MORE ELABORATE PANORAMA. 



167 



holes in the top of the box, taking particular care that 
they are exactly above those in the shelf, when that is in 
position. The rollers are made from sections of broom- 
stick, with holes bored in the ends, and the wooden pins 
glued firmly in place. Remember that the upper set of 
pins are to be much longer than the lower to allow for the 
insertion of the crank. These rollers are about eleven 
and one-half inches long, and when the glue has thor- 
oughly dried, should be put in place and kept there by 
inserting the shelf, and fastening it in place by nails 
driven through the sides as at i i, in Fig. 3. 



Fig- 3 




i^V^VV^WSSSSOT 




^ssssmsm\w?a 



9 



li 



Fig. 3 represents what is called a horizontal section ; 
that is, the work is supposed to be cut across from front 



168 



A MORE ELABORATE PANORAMA. 



to back, a little way above the shelf just mentioned, and 
the observer is supposed to be looking downward at it. 
Fig. 4 represents the work in an upright position, and the 
observer sees the front of it. 
From the top of the shelf to the lower outside edge of 




the box should be just five and one-half inches. Next 
come the two uprights, a b, c d, Fig. 3, and A A, Fig. 4. 
They may be made from the bottom of the box, which 
was taken out, it will be remembered, and let their width 
correspond to ab and c d, Fig. 3. Kound off the edges at 



A MORE ELABORATE PANORAMA. 169 

a and c, and smooth it with sand-paper, as it would soon 
tear the pictures if left in a rough state ; place these two 
boards in position, and secure them by nails at the top 
and bottom. Now cut two oblong pieces from stiff 
cardboard, as long as these wooden uprights, and wide 
enough to cover the spaces left at e b and d /, and tack 
these in position ; they are shown by dotted lines in 
Fig. 4. 

From a thin board cut two other strips to cover the 
spaces g 7i, but leave the placing of these till the work is 
nearly finished. A board two feet long and about three 
inches high is also necessary for the lower edge of the 
front, and should be put on after the other parts are in 
position, to hide the flame of the foot-lights (consisting of 

Fig. 5 



a row of short candles) from the spectator. The two 
pieces like Fig. 5 are made of pasteboard and are designed 
to furnish the upper and lower portions of the frame for 
the pictures. Their position is indicated by dotted lines 
in Fig. 4. As it is somewhat difficult to arrive at the 



170 A MORE ELABORATE PANORAMA. 

exact proportions of these irregular pieces, without the 
actual box before one, it will be easier to leave this to the 
maker, as it is simply necessary to take a stiff piece of 
paper and place it in the position desired ; then crease the 
lines so that they shall meet the proper points on the up- 
rights ; the lower piece comes up to the top of the shelf, 
and the upper piece comes down just below the top of the 
picture. After fitting this paper, it is an easy matter to 
trace the form on the pasteboard, taking care that all the 
lines are perfectly straight. The curtain should be next 
adjusted, and a piece of dark blue or green cambric is 
best suited for this purpose. 

Cut (do not tear) from your cloth a piece of the required 
size, making sure that the sides are at right angles to 
each other, and prepare another roller from your broom- 
stick twenty-one and one-half inches long. This roller is 
seen between e and/ in Fig. 3. Paste or glue one of the 
ends of the cloth, which corresponds to the length of the 
roller, smoothly around it ; now letting this roll just 
touch the floor, draw the other end up evenly, and tack 
it along the under-side of the top of the box, on a line 
three inches from the edge. In order that the curtain 
may roll up smoothly, it is best to mark straight lines 
with a pencil and ruler, on both roller and box, and ad- 
just its edges carefully to these lines. 

Just in front of this line, and at two inches from either 



A MORE ELABORATE PANORAMA. 171 

end, tack to the box the ends of two pieces of fish-line, 
and, carrying the strings down the front of the curtain, 
bring them under the roller, up on the other side, and 
through two small holes bored for the purpose in the top 
of the box, about three and one- half inches from the ends ; 
next bring the two strings together, and pass them through 
a screw-eye placed at the middle and back edge of the top 
to receive them. At one side of the back, in any conven- 
ient place, drive a small nail to wind the strings upon 
when the curtain is up. By simply undoing this, the 
curtain can at any moment be made to fall. It is also 
well to tie the two strings together, and fasten a button 
to them just back of the point where they pass through 
the screw-eye, when the curtain is down, and they are 
evenly drawn, as this prevents an extra play of the cord, 
and obviates entirely the danger of their slipping. Be- 
fore the curtain is nailed on, it* is best to paper the whole 
beveled surface picture frame with some neat plain paper; 
very dark red or green " velvet" house-paper being pref- 
erable to all others. 

After the curtain is in a good working condition, fasten 
on the two uprights, g and h, indicated in Fig. 3, and the 
long piece across the front which you have already pre- 
pared ; make a fancy design for the top out of stiff card- 
board, taking especial care that it is wide enough to cover 
the cranks on the top, while at the same time it extends 



172 REPOUSSE WORK FOR BOYS. 

low enough to cover the upper edges of the curtain and 
the rough unfinished wood in front. 

Cover the outside and edges of the box with fancy 
wall-paper, letting it extend well over on the inside, 
wherever there is the slightest danger of that surface be- 
ing exposed to view ; and lastly, fasten the long strip of 
pictures on the rollers, and nothing is wanting but post- 
ers and tickets, to insure a first-class show, of the best ap- 
proved, old-fashioned style. 



REPOUSSE WORK FOR BOYS. 

The term Repousse is applied to any sheet-metal in 
which a pattern is hammered out or left in relief, by 
means of a hammer and common nail, or a regular tool 
made for the purpose. It does not simply refer to brass- 
work, but applies equally to work of like character either 
on silver or gold. 

If you have friends who have made the voyage of the 
Nile, you have probably seen the beautiful silver brace- 
lets bought by them of the Nubian workmen as souvenirs 
of their Eastern travels. These bracelets are made, I was 
told, by the natives of the interior, with simply a nail and 
a stone, but the effect is very artistic and pretty. So, if 
ignorant Nubians can make these beautiful things with 
such primitive tools, certainly an intelligent American 



REPOUSSE WORK FOR BOYS. 175 

lad can do equally good work, with a little instruction and 
better materials. 



This work is chiefly produced by means of a punch 
and hammer. An ordinary tack-hammer can be used, but 
that generally in use by most workers is of rather pecul- 
iar shape, like that in Fig. 1. 



The round end will be found very useful in working 
from the inside of the pattern, which will be explained 
hereafter. The punches are of various forms ; but a set 
of common board nails of different sizes, and varying 
shaped ends, make good tools for beginners. A very nice 
piece of work can be done with a common French nail 
whose end has been ground flat. 

It is desirable that a beginner should practice upon the 
thinnest sheet-brass until he becomes perfectly acquainted 
with the use of his tools. Brass can be obtained for about 
twenty -five cents a pound, and one-quarter of a pound of 
No. 25 will be amply sufficient for this practice. 



176 REPOUSSE WORK FOR BOYS. 

A tool which is of great assistance in all brass work is 
a dull chisel or screw-driver, with a serrated edge, so that 
a dotted line is left when it is pressed upon the metal ; 
however, if this is not readily procurable, a common 
screw-driver will answer the same purpose in most in- 
stances. In this practice, the first thing to be done is to 
draw a line of some design upon the brass with a soft 
lead-pencil or with impression-paper, taking extreme care 
that this line is precisely like that in the copy, as all irreg- 
ularities should be corrected in the drawing, and none 
left for the punch. It is, indeed, very difficult to make 
the proper corrections after the work is commenced. 
Then having traced your line as perfectly as you can do 
it, lay the brass upon a piece of soft wood, and with the 
end of the screw-driver pressed evenly upon the line, give 
the head a light blow with the hammer ; then move the 
blade along the penciled line, so that its edge shall just 
touch the end of the last indentation, and give it another 
slight tap with the hammer. If you strike with too much 
force your line will be unequally deep in some places, and 
your work will not present as good an appearance when 
finished. This process should be repeated along the en- 
tire design, and a perfect unbroken line should be the 
result. Until this is accomplished it is best to attempt 
nothing further. After you have succeeded in making 
one unbroken even line, mark two parallel lines upon the 



( 

REPOUSSE WORK FOR BOYS. Ill 

metal, and do them in the same manner. When these 
present a satisfactory appearance, trace some very simple 
design upon the same thin sheet, and after nailing the 
sheet at each corner to the block, commence with the 
chisel and mark lightly around the figure. It is often 
necessary to do this tracing over two or three times dur- 
ing the process of working, as too deep denting at first 
warps, or, as the regular brass- worker would say, "buck- 
les" your pattern. Now commence at the outside edge 
of your design, with your nail placed near the line, strike 
upon it with a light blow, and continue this operation 
until your who]e background is covered with little dents, 
and presents a thickly mottled appearance. When this 
is removed from the block, the pattern will seem to stand 
out from the rest of the surface. 

Care must be taken at first not to crack or break holes 
in the brass, but after a little practice, and a thicker qual- 
ity of brass is used, you will learn to avoid this danger. 

PLAQUE IN HAMMERED BRASS. 

When quite confident in the use of your tools, you can 
proceed to make a card-receiver decorated with an antique 
head, as in the figure ; or by enlarging the design, and 
making the background circular, a plaque will be the re- 
sult, which will be useful for holding fruit, or, set in a 



178 REPOUSSE WORK FOR BOYS. 

velvet frame, will make an ornament for yonr walls. A 
sheet of brass nearly one-eighth of an inch in thickness, 
and at least seventeen inches square will be required. 

As in work of this character a deeper relief is desirable, 
you will find it more agreeable to work over a bed of compo- 
sition, which is more yielding than wood, and can be made 
with but little trouble ; this composition can be obtained 
in small cakes at any store where jewelers' tools are for 
sale ; but you can easily make it yourself by thoroughly 
mixing fine sand, well-sifted wood ashes, or even brick- 
dust, with equal parts of pitch or resin ; a tiny bit of tal- 
low improves it considerably. This pitch bed, as it is 
called, can be spread on a flat table or board, and the 
sheet of brass, after the design has been carefully traced 
thereon, fastened down upon it by means of four screws 
at the corners. To draw the design for the plaque, with a 
strong pair of carpenter's dividers describe a circle whose 
diameter shall be sixteen and one-half inches, and within 
this draw a second circle, with a diameter of fifteen inches. 
The space between these two circles is to be left untouched, 
as it will be turned over to inclose the wire which forms 
the edge, if for a platter ; or will extend under the edge 
of the velvet, if intended to be framed. Be sure and put 
your screws outside the large circle, as holes in the body 
of the plaque would ruin its effect. In this work heavier 
blows with the hammer will be needed ; and a large, well- 



REPOUSSE WORK FOR BOYS. 179 

shaped nail used for the background. Work around the 
pattern until it stands out in fine relief. 

The brass will become discolored and black during the 
process of hammering ; but, when done, it can be readily 
cleaned, at first with oxalic acid and rotten-stone, then a 
final polishing with chamois-skin. 

When well polished, take it to a tinsmith and he will 
make it up for you as a platter, or trim and bend the 
edges for a plaque. 

CARD-RECEIVER. 

In making the card-receiver, take the design off on 
tracing-paper, and then carefully trace it with a sharp- 
ened stick or end of a bone crochet-hook, over the im- 
pression-leaf on the sheet of brass. In this also the relief 
should be high, thus rendering it necessary that it should 
be hammered on the composition-bed. * Polish and finish 
this in the same manner as the plaque. 

FOXING. 

Foxing, or sticking the metal to be embossed upon a 
block covered with pitch, is a favorite method with many 
workers. The block can be of iron or wood, and should 
measure eight or nine inches across ; this rests upon a 
deep ring of straw, which is readily made by an ingenious 
boy, as it simply consists of the twisting several wisps 
of rye straw in the form of a, large cable, and then bend- 



180 REPOUSSE WORK FOR BOYS. 

ing them into a small ring of even thickness. Catch them 
in place with a large darning-needle filled with wrapping- 
twine. Mce rings, made of leather, and designed ex- 
pressly for this purpose, can be obtained in the trade, but 
the home-made ones answer as well for any work a novice 
would be competent or even desirous of undertaking. 
The top of the block is covered with pitch, which should 
be warmed, and then given the slightest possible coating 
of oil, whenever a new object is to be placed upon it. 
Care must be taken that too much oil is not used, as in 
that case it will be impossible to make the surface of the 
brass adhere to the bed. In work of a nice nature, where 
the lines are many and fine, and the background compli- 
cated, this is by far the most satisfactory bed to use, and 
when the metal is " annealed" it will be found invalu- 
able. 

ANNEALING. 

When working in very heavy metal, it is often neces- 
sary to soften it somewhat, especially if a deep relief is 
desired. This is accomplished by placing the plate upon 
a bed of glowing coals, and allowing it to remain there 
till it becomes soft, but not in the least melted, and then 
removing it with pincers. Hammering upon the cold 
metal is inclined to make it brittle, and at times slightly 
unmanageable, and this unpleasant quality can be over- 



REPOUSS& WORK FOR BOYS. 181 

come by annealing ; bnt so much care and patience are 
required to accomplish this process successfully, that it 
is not very popular with young workers. In many larger 
designs, a very high relief is obtained by turning the 
brass after the plaque has been hammered upon the right 
side as much as seems necessary, and with the round end 
of the hammer sending strong, even blows into the figure, 
at whatever points the highest work is desired. By an- 
nealing the metal, and working the pattern from the in- 
side after the background is finished, a very fine bunch 
of well-rounded grapes is easily formed, and makes a 
very nice subject for a fruit-dish or dining-room plaque. 
A dragon, and the emblem of St. Mark, both make un- 
usually fine designs for a mediaeval plaque. 

As you become more expert in this art you will con- 
stantly desire new punches. Designs will suggest them- 
selves to you, and it will be impossible to obtain them 
ready-made, so it is well for a boy to learn to make his 
own tools. A kind of square steel wire about one-eighth 
of an inch thick is made for this purpose, and can be 
bought in any quantity ; this can be cut with a file, and 
the ends formed into the desired shapes. 

A SALVER IN REPOUSSE. 

A very beautiful salver, which will not only be orna- 
mental but exceedingly useful, can be easily made by one 



182 REPOUSSE WORK FOR BOYS. 

accustomed to work upon sheet-brass. A piece twenty 
by fifteen inches in size, and about one-eighth of an inch 
thick, will be required for one of medium size. Strike 
off with the dividers a quarter circle in each corner, to 
give it a slightly oval effect, and draw a line around the 
salver parallel to the intended edge, and one and three- 
fourths inches from it. The entire central surface can be 
hammered in the honey-comb pattern, which is so popu- 
lar just now, and is done with a perfectly straight-edged 
punch, its length determining the side of the hexagon, or 
if preferred the pentagon, as both forms are equally at- 
tractive ; or it may contain some graceful design done in 
low relief. The more original the design the more unique 
the salver, provided it is artistic and in harmony with 
the object and use for which it is intended. 

It would be well for all young workers in brass to ex- 
amine carefully any work of that nature which comes 
within their field of view, especially any antique or 
foreign brasses, with a view toward perfecting their own 
designs, or gaining ideas for others. 

When the work on this salver is completed, take it to 
the tinman, and tell him how you wish it made up, and 
he will do it for you for a very small sum. 

A SILVER BANGLE FOR A LADY'S BRACELET. 

For the past few years there has been an increasing 



REPOUSSfi WORK FOR BOYS. 183 

passion among young girls for the little round bangles, 
which tinkle so musically with every movement of the 
slender white wrist, that we are forcibly reminded of the 
old nursery rhyme : 

" With rings on her fingers, 
And bells on her toes, 
She shall have music 
Wherever she goes." 

And as it has long been a matter of rivalry, as to who 
should display the greatest number of these resonant 
favors, it is quite certain that one of the pretty trifles will 
make a very acceptable present to any of your sisters or 
girl friends you may desire to please. They are usually 
made from ten cent pieces, but occasionally a bit of silver 
no larger than an old-fashioned three-cent piece is used. 
The coin is beaten or rolled flat, and the giver' s initials or 
monogram, with perhaps a date, is engraved on one side. 
Now a much more unique and artistic thing could be 
made by annealing the coin, and beating its surface flat 
on some firm, hard bed. After the silver is reduced to 
the proper size and thinness, with a pen or pencil draw 
some odd designs, and hammer it in shape with a small, 
blunt-pointed nail. Ancient coins, such as are frequently 
on exhibition in store windows, afford excellent subjects 
for this class of ornaments. When the design is well in- 



184 REPOUSSE WORK FOR BOYS. 

dented, the work can be cleaned by boiling it in sulphuric 
acid and water, and polishing it with chamois-skin. 



A BANGLE BKACELET. 

A bangle bracelet can be easily made of hammered 
work, from a narrow strip of sheet-silver, which can be 
obtained from any silversmith at a small cost. The de- 
sign is to be traced on the silver in the same manner as 
upon the sheet-brass, and great care must be taken in the 
working out of each little detail. When the work is fin- 
ished, it should be sent to a jeweler to be made up and 
polished. This is of course an expensive, as well as a 
very nice piece of work, and should not be tried until 
considerable skill in the manipulation of sheet-metal has 
been acquired, and success seems in a large degree 
certain. 

Many ladies are fine workers in repousse, and it cannot 
fail to be a source of satisfaction to every one interested 
in the art to know, that each year its merits are becoming 
more fully known and appreciated by that great class of 
people, whose purchases govern the prices of all artistic 
things. Now, boys, I have simply touched upon this 
very interesting subject of repousse, and given you a few 
directions, culled from my own experience. If, however, 
I have succeeded in stimulating in you a desire to pursue 



A FRAME FOB A PLAQUE. 185 

this subject further, you will find many excellent helps, 
in the form of books or pamphlets, in any of our large 
stores devoted to artists' materials and supplies. 



A FRAME FOR A PLAQUE. 

A fine frame for any kind of plaque, whether repousse, 
porcelain, leather work, or papier-mache, can be easily 
made from a square piece of wood, about six inches wider 
than the subject to be framed ; this can be beveled at the 
edges, or left as when sawed. In the center, with a strong 
pair of carpenter's dividers describe a circle, whose di- 
ameter shall be half an inch shorter than that of the 
plaque. Bevel the front edge of this opening, then cov- 
ering the whole front surface of this wood with thin glue, 
lay it, face downward upon the piece of plush or velvet 
intended to cover it ; the material lying flat and smooth, 
with its raised surface downward, upon an uncovered 
table. Cut the center of the cloth away, allowing enough 
on the edge to draw over the opening of the frame ; 
slash this to within a short distance of the wood, that it 
may lay evenly when finished ; now glue this firmly down 
upon the back, and bring over the outside edges and fix 
them in the same way. When this is dry, fasten in your 
plaque with brads driven into the back of the frame, and 



186 THE AQUARIUM. 

extending over the edge of the opening at its back. Fi- 
nally, when certain all is securely fastened, wet a piece 
of brown paper, cut to exactly cover the entire back of 
plaque and frame both, cover it with paste and press it 
in place. It is necessary to wet the paper first, to prevent 
its wrinkling or forming great bubbles when dry. When 
the paper is dampened, a bit of paste around the edge is 
all that is necessary to hold it in place. 

After this backing is completed, a couple of screw-eyes 
and a wire cord are to be added, and your plaque is ready 
for your walls. 



THE AQUARIUM. 

The name aquarium was formerly sometimes given to a 
tank or cistern placed in a hot-house, and intended for 
the cultivation of aquatic plants ; but in later years its 
signification has widened, so that it now embraces ani- 
mals as well as plants in its category. Its use seems to 
have been known nearly a hundred years ago, and a num- 
ber of gentlemen, in the latter part of the eighteenth cent- 
ury, made several successful experiments by means of 
this "scientific plaything," as some writer has happily 
called it. The aquarium can be used for either salt or 
fresh water animals, the former necessitating a residence 
conveniently near the sea, for the purpose of occasionally 



TEE AQUARIUM. 189 

replenishing it with a fresh supply of the water. It may 
be an ordinary globe, or it can be made of slabs of heavy 
glass, fastened inside an iron frame- work, with a peculiar 
kind of cement, made specially for the purpose. They 
can be obtained in different sizes at several places in New 
York and other cities, and as the materials in themselves 
are expensive, and the work of making one usually re- 
sults in a series of disappointments, and finally, in total 
failure, the expediency of buying one ready-made cannot 
be too strongly urged upon the young naturalist. Al- 
though the large aquarium accommodates more inmates, 
the globe is much more easily cleaned, and answers 
equally well for a few fishes, as the one in my window 
will testify. As fresh-water animals and plants are more 
accessible to the larger proportion of boys in the country, 
and the globe much cheaper, while it occupies less space 
than the large square articles alluded to above, it may 
possibly not come amiss for me to give, for the benefit of 
those of my readers who are interested in the subject, a 
description of my own fresh- water aquarium, and what 
little experience I have derived from it. 

It is a globe of ordinary shape, and has the capacity of 
a common water-pail. For several years it was stocked 
with gold-fish, but it was, moreover, a source of ceaseless 
anxiety and trouble. The fish would die or turn black 
without any apparent cause, and, still worse, would fre- 



190 THE AQUARIUM. 

quently have what we termed "tits" in the night, and 
jump out of the globe on the floor, where they would be 
found, cold and lifeless, in the morning. 

The experiment of keeping these decidedly troublesome 
pets was finally given up, and the empty globe placed 
high and dry upon a closet shelf. 

One day nearly a year ago, a young member of our 
household brought home three small fishes (the common 
dace), and begged so hard that the globe might be 
brought out, and converted into the family fish-pond 
once more, that we finally consented, and the little fishes 
were soon at home in our library window. Not more than 
a week after this, a genuine mud-turtle was added to the 
collection, and, strange as it may seem, these little creat- 
ures have lived at peace with each other ever since. 

We covered the bottom with a few pebbles from the 
brook, and afterward added some sand and a handful 
of shells from the sea-shore. 

We experimented with several species of water-plants, 
but were convinced that a tiny fine-leaved plant, of which 
I have forgotten the name, but which grows very plenti- 
fully in our northern fresh-water brooklets, and the vallis- 
neria Spiralis, or common 'tape or eel-grass, gave the 
greatest satisfaction on the whole. With these little 
plants growing on its bottom, we are not obliged to 
change the water for several days at a time. 



THE AQUARIUM. 191 

In bright sunny weather the plants give forth plenty of 
oxygen for the fishes to breathe. This can be readily 
seen by noting the little air-bubbles adhering to the 
leaves and stems, or rising slowly to the surface of the 
water ; but in cloudy weather this gas-making process 
diminishes, so that after awhile the air becomes vitiated, 
and the fishes, finding it hard to breathe, are forced to 
swim near the top, with their heads at the surface of the 
water. At such times it is well to introduce fresh air into 
the water, by filling a cup with the water, and, holding it 
an inch or two above the surface, pour it slowly back into 
the globe; by repeating this process several times the 
water is made comparatively pure once more. Another 
and easier way of accomplishing this is by using a small 
syringe instead of the cup ; but care must be taken in 
either case to avoid hitting the fish with the descending 
stream. 

Their food consists of angle- worms and flies in summer, 
and bits of fresh meat cut very fine with the scissors, dur- 
ing the colder portions of the year. 

THE SALT-WATER AQUARIUM. 

The globe answers equally as well for salt as for fresh 
water fish, provided its inmates are not crowded and are 
supplied with a sufficient quantity of good sea-water. In 



192 THE AQUARIUM. 

obtaining this supply, it is desirable to have it dipped 
from deep water some distance from the shore, or from the 
channel if possible. 

In preparing your globe, put a handful of gravel and 
sand on the bottom, then with three or four irregular 
stones build a cave or little arch, for the fishes to play 
beneath. 

Although some authorities say that the aquarium should 
be kept in the shade, the one with which the writer was 
familiar through childhood always stood in a south 
window, which was only partially shaded by some great 
trees in the garden beyond. 

Occasionally, on very sunny days in spring or early 
summer, before the leaves were fully grown, a newspaper 
would be placed between the glass and the window-pane, 
or over a corner of the top, to give the desired protection ; 
but the tiny cavern usually supplied sufficient shade, and 
it was ever a source of unabating amusement to watch 
the little fellows swim in and out through the arches, 
darting now here and again there, hiding in the shadow 
of some moss-grown stone, to spring out a moment later 
upon an unsuspecting companion swimming leisurely by ; 
their little games of hide-and-seek and of tag were very 
entertaining to witness, and we children would frequently 
find ourselves quite excited over the success or failure of 
our special favorite in the game. 



THE AQUARIUM. 195 

As the aquarium of which I speak was a large one, it 
frequently had several inmates at the same time ; among 
these the little nippers, or, as the dwellers along the coast 
of New York State call them, killie-fish — so named by the 
Dutch settlers from their frequenting the little kills, or 
inlets, along the shore — always held a conspicuous place. 
Indeed, these little fishes seem to be blessed with a long 
string of names entirely disproportionate to the size of 
their tiny little bodies. In some places they are known 
as minnows, while on the shores of the Narragansett they 
retain their old Indian name of Mummychog. They are 
a bright, lively little fish, darting through the water with 
such rapidity, that you hold your breath in fear lest they 
dash themselves against the glass at the end, but they 
never do ; just as contact with it seems a matter of cer- 
tainty, they suddenly turn a sharp angle, face about, and 
perhaps come to the front and peer at you through the 
glass, with their funny little faces pressed up close to its 
surface. They are of a greenish-gray color upon the 
back, which gradually shades to a bright silvery tone at 
the sides, and their eyes, which are large and staring, 
have a very mild, good-natured expression. 

Yery different from these are the sticklebacks (Gas- 
terosteus), also fine subjects for the aquarium, for a more 
pugnacious or plucky little fellows it would be hard to 
find than these graceful little tyrants, which in early 



196 THE AQUARIUM. 

spring are found in our creeks and salt-water ditches in 
great abundance. As this is the only season of the year 
in which they can be captured, it is best to be on the 
watch for them during the last of March or the first of 
April. A dip-net, made of a piece of mosquito netting 
caught over a small hoop, and attached to a long, slender 
handle, is best for catching all kinds of fish for the aqua- 
rium, and the shores of bays or salt-water streams supply 
a greater abundance than the open sea, or the shore 
washed by the heavy ocean waves. If your globe is the 
vessel you are to use, the sticklebacks will afford you 
quite as much amusement as any fish you could find, for 
aside from their quick, lively manner, they are a very 
handsome fish. The male is of a rich ruddy color, his 
little silvery sides giving forth gleams of red or blue, 
which vary considerably, according to his temper. If he 
feels quiet and peaceful, they are pale and soft in tone, 
but if indignant, they become very brilliant, and the little 
chap with his savage, fiery eye, becomes an object of 
great respect and terror to all the other denizens of the 
water within reach of his teeth or sharp little spines. 
The female is less brilliantly colored than the male, is 
blunter in build, and has a comparatively mild disposition, 
leaving all little differences with other fish for her liege 
lord and master to settle, for which duty he is perfectly 
well fitted and takes great delight in performing ; indeed, 



THE AQUARIUM. 197 

so quarrelsome were these little fellows, that they would 
soon kill all fish of other species in the tank, and when 
no other subject was at hand, would fall to and fight one 
another, biting as ugly dogs might do, and spearing with 
their tiny spines, till one had acquired complete suprem- 
acy over all the rest. It is very interesting to watch the 
process of their nest-building, and to see them, like so 
many lilliputian carpenters, lay the sticks and hairs in 
place, working as if their whole life depended upon 
their unceasing exertions. We used to put in bits of 
broom-corn split in threads, and bristles from the floor- 
brush, for materials ; and the work of building would gen- 
erally occupy three or four days. The nest was built in 
one corner of the box (we were obliged to keep the stickle- 
backs in a separate glass case, as they killed all the other 
fish if together) and well up on the sides, with a tiny 
round hole at the top for the fish to go in and out. After 
a short time — I do not remember now just how long — hun- 
dreds of little fish came out from the nest, and were very 
lively for two or three days, but in a week they were all 
dead, and the parents had the waters to themselves once 
more. We never succeeded in raising the young fish, I 
remember, but I do not now recall whether any reason 
was ever ascribed to our failure, or if it was even known. 
But to go back to our large aquarium. Fortunately 
for us, not many fish are as quarrelsome as the stickle- 



198 THE AQUARIUM. 

backs, and moist of those I shall now describe live to- 
gether in perfect harmony. The young of larger fish do 
very nicely for a time in the aquarium, and a young eel is 
a rather amusing although somewhat sluggish fellow to 
keep. 

The most amusing denizens are creatures of the crab 
family. The little hermit-crabs, found in quantities on 
any shelving beach of the bay or sea inlet, create much 
sport for the young naturalist. These little crabs, you 
must know, are soft little fellows, for whom nature in a 
frugal moment prepared no house or covering to protect 
them from the thumps they might receive from both 
water and stones ; but the little fellows, with a shrewdness 
one would hardly suspect in creatures so small, rise equal 
to the occasion, and help themselves to the empty snail- 
shells left by their more fortunate neighbors. When 
small they occupy the little black snail-shells, moving 
from a smaller to a larger as they increase in size. After 
outgrowing these plainer homes they take possession of 
the pretty grayish-white shells also found in abundance 
on our shores. It is frequently quite amusing to watch 
two fight over a particularly desirable one, which either 
has chosen for its own, and ofttimes the battle will be 
long and heavy before either will give up that which he 
considers by rights his own. If you have one or more of 
these little wanderers in your globe, remember to put in 



THE AQUARIUM. 199 

two or three empty snail- shells for them to flee to when 
they have outgrown their present abode. Their manner 
of eating affords a very entertaining spectacle. Clams, 
either soft or hard, cut into tiny bits, form the principal 
food for all the dwellers in the aquarium, and a long stick 
with a needle driven in one end, to form a tiny spear, is 
used in passing it to them. When a particular crab is to 
be fed, a bit of clam is taken up on the needle, and low- 
ered down in the water to a position directly in front of 
him. At first, before he has become acquainted with this 
mode of dining, he draws in his claws, and nothing but 
the shell is to be seen upon the bottom ; but in a few mo- 
ments the little fellow lets himself out again, little by 
little, with a quick, jerky movement, till at last his two 
little eyes stand in an upright position, and he is ready to 
seize the tempting morsel. This he does with his longest 
claw, and holding the clam firm in his grasp, he proceeds 
to pick it in pieces with the other long claw, and pass it 
along to the smaller set, which in turn give it to the next 
in order, until it finally disappears in the mouth itself, 
and is swallowed by the little creature. 

It is important to have two or three snails in your globe 
to act as scavengers, and keep the water free from the 
refuse which would otherwise remain on the bottom. 
These little creatures are often seen moving slowly along 
on the surface of the glass, feeding upon the green moss 



200 THE AQUARIUM. 

or confervse which accumulates so quickly on all the 
objects under water. The pipe-fish, a peculiarly shaped 
specimen, comparatively rare on our Atlantic coast, is 
worthy a place in your collection ; and the shrimp, the 
acrobat of the aquarium, whose funny little backward 
movements, when the poor little fellow is frightened, 
create so much laughter among the little folks, must not 
be forgotten. Young scallops are very pretty, and when 
left undisturbed open their shells a trifle, disclosing a 
beautiful fringe of tiny blue tentacles which wave to and 
fro with every motion of the water. 

The medusae, also called jelly-fish, with their umbrella- 
like cover, and long, slender tentacles streaming down- 
ward, are pretty for a time, but do not live long after 
they are taken from the sea. The Cydippe and the Beroe 
are very lovely specimens of this class, the former partic- 
ularly is noticeable for its beautiful iridescent colors. 
The beautiful orange colored medusa is an unsafe inmate, 
as he very soon kills all the fishes within his reach. 

If it is possible, obtain one or more of the beautiful sea- 
anemones, and add it to your globe ; the large, bright- 
colored members of this class are only to be found in the 
tropics, but very pretty, delicate specimens are sometimes 
found in our northern waters, where a rock or bit of stone- 
work is constantly washed over by a swift current. If pos- 
sible, it is better to take the stone on which they rest, as it 



THE AQUARIUM. 203 

is almost impossible to remove them from its surface with- 
out killing them. This was, however, done several times 
with success, and the anemones lived in our aquarium as 
long as they could be expected to exist in perfectly quiet 
water. When these creatures are at rest or frightened 
they draw down into little shapeless masses ; but when 
looking for food they stretch up again, and expand on 
the top of the long stalk, as we may call it, a beautiful 
flower-like head, resembling an aster in form, and of a deep 
brownish-yellow color. When food is passed down to 
this animated blossom, it will fold its little tentacles one 
by one around it, and pass it down into its mouth, open 
to receive it, but which is entirely hidden by the beauti- 
ful petals of this delicate flower. 

All of you have probably noticed the serpulae, or worm- 
like excrescences often seen upon oyster and other hard 
shells. If one of these shells be taken from the water 
and immediately placed on the bottom of your aquarium, 
after a few days, when the little animals feel quite at 
home, they send out of one end of their slender tubes 
bunches of the loveliest, delicate brown fern-like feelers, 
which sway about in the water like the beautiful road- 
side ferns in a gentle summer breeze. 

But in the salt as in the fresh water aquarium, vegeta- 
tion is necessary for a healthful condition of the inmates. 
Here we see on a miniature scale that wonderful bal- 



204 THE WOODEN WINDMILL. 

ance of organic forces which exists on the larger globe 
around us. The vegetation exhales the purifying oxygen, 
which renders the water fit for sustaining animal life ; the 
fishes and other animals in their turn give forth the car- 
bonic-acid gas, which is equally needed for the healthful 
development of the plants ; while, last of all, the snails — 
those little scavengers nature has so wisely provided — re- 
move such minute portions of decaying matter as might 
otherwise pass unnoticed, and so contaminate the entire 
water in the globe. 



THE WOODEN WINDMILL. 

So common were these little toys among the companions 
of my childhood, that it seemed almost superfluous to in- 
sert what I supposed every boy must be familiar with ; 
but upon questioning my young friends, I find that very 
few of them away from the sea-coast towns of New Eng- 
land, and the sailor-like influence or atmosphere which 
permeates them, know anything of the pretty little wind- 
mills, or weather-vanes, which we copied from those of 
our sailor friends. 

It was no uncommon thing in those days for some boy 
less ingenious than his companions to use a little strategy, 
and so get his work done for him by proxy ; and the 



THE WOODEN WINDMILL. 205 

manner in which he would proceed was generally some- 
thing like this : Early some bright spring morning, with 
jackknife and shingle in hand, he would saunter down to 
the wharf, upon which he knew at an early hour the old 
sea captains of the village would assemble, and wait his 
chance. Here the old captains, and the sailors, who by 
reason of their advanced age took the same honorary 
title, were wont to gather on the sunny side of the 
weather-beaten old store-house, and watch from under 
their heavy gray eyebrows the bay stretched out before 
them, while they enjoyed their pipes, and lived over 
again the wonderful adventures and disasters of their 
successive voyages ; and here he would watch for his 
prey, little suspected by those kindly old souls, who had, 
years long gone by, ruled with iron will over the crews 
and destinies of great ships, known to him only by their 
names. Occasionally two or three would arrive at the 
wharf together, and he knew his chances were gone for 
that day at least ; but usually some one, whose breakfast 
may not have claimed as much attention as usual, would 
be seen making his way down the quiet village street, 
easily recognized by his rolling gait, his inseparable pipe, 
and manner of scanning the clouds and horizon. Now 
our friend would begin to whittle in earnest, soon attract- 
ing the attention of the ancient mariner by his awkward 
movements. Of course, he would receive no end of ridi- 



206 



THE WOODEN WINDMILL. 



cule for his stupidity ; but as that did not sink very deep 
in his boyish soul, he was prepared to pay a greater price, 
if necessary, for the work he expected to receive. It not 
unfreqently happened that the old fellow would take the 
shingle to show him how to begin, and would get so much 
interested in the work that he would offer to do it during 
the day, and would actually whittle away on the little 
boat, while he or one of his companions related for the 
fiftieth time how the Nautilus passed through so many 
hair-breadth escapes, and finally reached port at last, 
with no soul missing and cargo untouched. 

It was during these long voyages, when time hung 
heavily on their hands, that they acquired their skill in 
fashioning these mechanical toys, which almost always 
had for their motive power the wind or the waves. 

The simplest form of windmill from this source I re- 
member seeing is very easily constructed. It is made 



a 



Fial 



from an oblong piece of wood like Fig. 1. Through the 
center of this bore a hole, a, for the pivot upon which it 
will finally turn, and mark the two lines at b. Now, com- 
mencing at the point 6, cut off the corner, b c, and make 



THE WOODEN WINDMILL. 207 

the surface flat as in Fig. 2 ; then cut off the opposite side 
of the other end, indicated in Fig. 1 by the dotted lines 




Fi 9 Z 



d e, in a like manner. Your figure will now resemble Fig. 
2, and both ends will form a prism like b c d e f ; but b 
c d e should be a thin flat blade, so the corner or edge, 
commencing at/, should be cut down in the same manner 
that e d was treated in Fig. 1. Make the other blade to 
correspond and chamfer out the middle, or square piece, 
as seen in Fig. 3. This middle piece is not a square, al- 



^ 




7 



though I have spoken of it as such, but is oblong, to allow 
room for another two-bladed piece made precisely like 
this to interlock with it. When these two pieces are 
fitted together, fasten them with one or more nails, and 
then insert the small round stick upon which the wind- 
mill is to turn. Fig. 4 shows an arrangement by which 



208 



THE WOODEN WINDMILL. 



two windmills are operated on the same stick. These 
should turn in opposite directions to make them effective, 
and this is easily accomplished by simply cutting the 
vanes of the one so that the wind shall strike it at an 
angle opposite to that with which it strikes the other. 
Should you care to decorate them in colors, it had best 
be done by painting bands or stripes across each vane, all 
to correspond with each other in width and shade. For 
instance, take the windmill in Fig. 4 ; let the outside 
bands be of chrome yellow and one inch wide ; the next 




red and two inches wide ; while the third yellow, and the 
fourth blue, should each be an inch in width. The axis 



THE WOODEN WINDMILL. 



209. 



should have a greater diameter where the larger revolves 
upon it, but should be cut smaller where it meets the back 
of the little windmill. Nails in -front and back of the 



^ 



\^ 




larger, and front of the smaller, are necessary to keep 
them in place. 
Perhaps the most satisfactory way of arranging such a 



210. 



THE WOODEN WINDMILL. 



windmill is to place it on the end of a weather-vane, as 
shown in Fig. 5. It is then always presented to the wind. 
The vane and the windmill may be painted the same 
color, or the latter may be decorated in stripes, as before 
described, and the vane given a color which will harmo- 
nize with it. Care must be exercised to fasten each part 
strongly in place, as the strain is very great during a 



strong wind or in a storm. 



THE SCREW-PROPELLER ; OR, WEATHER-VANE AND WIND- 
MILL COMBINED. 

Take a piece of board, seven-eighths of an inch thick, 
and large enough to make a vessel of the size you desire. 




Cut out a hull like that in the illustration. Make a 
small windmill like that just described, but with rounded 




THE WOODEN WINDMILL. 211 

ends to the vanes, like that represented in Fig. 2. Pass 

a strong wire through the hole in the center, and drive 

it into the stern of Fig. 1 ; fasten the 

other end into the rudder, which should 

be stationary. Be careful when planning 

your vessel to allow sufficient room for 

the windmill to revolve below the over 

hang. Bore a hole at a for the pivot to rest in, upon 

which the weather-vane is to turn, and insert the two 

masts in their proper places. Cut a small mizzen-sail 

from thin board and nail it to the mast. 

The flags are of red and blue flannel, the stays of 
copper or galvanized wire, and the bowsprit a small 
stick, cut from a tough bit of wood. This propeller may 
be painted to suit the fancy, but usually is black, with a 
narrow yellow or white stripe near the top. The lower 
third is frequently painted green, however, which adds 
considerably to its nautical appearance. The windmill 
should be a bright red, and the entire vessel should have 
plenty of time to dry before being placed in its final 
position. 

THE SIDE-WHEELEK. 

Another, and very pretty windmill, which can be easily 
constructed by a boy, is in the form of a steam-boat, the 
paddles of which are always presented to the wind by 



212 



THE WOODEN WINDMILL. 



the position of the boat itself. Cut out of a seven-eighths 
of an inch board a hull like that seen in the illustration, 
and make the hole for the pivot at the middle point be- 
tween bow and stern ; bore another hole just aft of this 
for the axle of the paddle-wheels. Out of thin wood cut 




Fi 3 



\a>l 



two circular disks for these wheels, and dovetail the 
paddles into their edges as seen in Fig. 2. Next cut out 
two half circles of your thin wood for paddle-boxes, and 
bore a hole in each for the axle of the wheels. These are 
to shield the upper half of the wheels from the wind. 
Now take a piece of tin, in shape like Fig. 3, and wide 



THE WOODEN WINDMILL. 



213 



enough to accommodate the wheels on either side, and 
nail it to the edges of the paddle-boxes, as seen in the 




Fy 



.1 



figure ; the ends, a, are to be nailed upon the deck of the 
steamer, and answer the purpose of keeping these boxes 




Fig- 3 



in position. Paint this boat black and green, the latter 
occupying the lower third of the hull, while a narrow 
line of yellow or white around the top relieves the som- 



214 THE WOODEN WINDMILL. 

berness of the upper part. The paddle-boxes should be 
black, with narrow lines of light red radiating from a 
small semicircular figure of the same color near the bot- 
tom. This boat should also be fitted with a small mizzen- 
sail, made of tin or thin board, and painted white. The 
top of the paddle-boxes is buff or light yellow, and the 
wheels or windmills are a bright red. 

In this steam-boat, a "dummy" walking- beam, cut out 
of a single piece of thin wood, can be added if desired, 
and should be painted in solid black, or, if liked, it can 
be striped like that in the "Toy Steam -boat," elsewhere 
described in this book. The smoke-stack in this, as well 
as the screw-propeller, should be nailed in place before 
the first painting. 

If you should care to take the trouble, the walking- 
beam can be made to move by simply cutting away the 
hull between the paddle-boxes, to allow the crank to 
turn in, and bending the axle of the wheels in the form 
of the crank described in the "Toy Steam-boat." A 
long slit must also be cut in the tin cover of the paddle- 
boxes, to allow of the play of the connecting-rod. Small 
flags of bright-colored strong cloth can be placed in the 
proper places if desired, and really add considerable to 
the bright, pretty effect when first made ; but as they are 
soon ruined by the combined influences of sun, rain, and 
wind, they are hardly desirable, unless the boat is in 



THE WOODEN WINDMILL. 215 

some position where it can be easily reached, and the 
little flags changed for new ones, as they become faded 
or torn. 

THE EEGATTA WINDMILL. 

Take two sticks of wood, abont three feet long, and 
one inch in diameter ; fasten them together at their cen- 




tral points, so that their arms shall be at right angles 
with each other (see Fig. 1) ; and bore a large hole 
through the point of intersection. From shingles cut 
out four boats, each eight inches long, and fit them with 
masts ; next cut from strong new cloth four small tri- 
angular pieces for sails, and sew them to the masts ; 
fasten the lower corner by a strong bit of cord to the 
stern, as seen in Fig. 2 ; then cut a small flag from red 



216 



A BOY'S SOLAR MICROSCOPE. 



flannel and nail it to the top of the mast. You can paint 
these boats if you like, and also the cross-pieces upon 
which they are finally nailed. Care must be taken that 
they all head the same way. Observe their positions in 
Fig. 1. 




Fig. 1 shows the affair finished and mounted on its 
pole. Place them in as high a position as possible, so 
that they may catch the breeze from all directions. 



A BOY'S SOLAR MICROSCOPE. 

The microscope is, as every boy knows, an optical in- 
strument, which enables us to see and examine objects 
which are too small to be seen by the naked eye. The 
arrangement of the solar microscope is similar to that of 
the magic lantern, the sun taking the place of the lime- 
light usually employed. In this form of the magic Ian- 



A BOY'S SOLAR MICROSCOPE. 



217 



tern, two difficulties are to be overcome ; one, the neces- 
sarily fixed position of the instrument ; and the other, 
the very inconvenient habit the sun has of constantly 
changing his position ; so that it would be impossible to 
adjust the lens without the aid of a mirror, to throw suf- 
ficient light in upon the object to be examined. Both of 
these obstacles are surmounted in the simple arrangement 
of the solar microscope here described. 







I I 






\ 






/ 






a 




c 




/ 


1 1 


\ 



Fifl 



First make a strong frame of wood, seven-eighths of an 
inch in thickness, that will exactly fit in the lower half 
of the window when the sash is thrown up ; and in the 
middle of this fit an upright board a foot wide, which has 
a hole cut in its center ten inches in diameter. Fasten it 



218 



A BOY'S SOLAR MICROSCOPE. 



strongly in place by four nails driven through the frame, 
and well into the ends of the boards, or, if more conven- 
ient, by long screws inserted in the same places. Fig. 1 
shows the position of the board a, also that of the nails 
b. The open spaces, c, are to be closed by several thick- 
nesses of brown paper pasted or tacked across on the inside 




Fif 



of the frame. The upper part of the window must also 
be closed, so that no ray of light shall enter the room, 
except through the hole d. 

Before proceeding further, it may be well to remark, 
that, as perhaps the largest part of the work is the cut- 
ting of no less than seven circular holes of various sizes, 
through as many pieces of board, a scroll-saw will be 



A BOY'S SOLAR MICROSCOPE. 



219 



found an almost indispensable aid to the construction 
of this apparatus. Also, that the window in which this 
microscope is used must necessarily have a southern 
exposure. 

In Fig. 2 we have a disk of half-inch wood, twelve 
inches in diameter, with an opening in the center four 
inches across, to hold the condensing lens, a; bis a, mir- 
ror live inches wide and ten inches long, turning on an axis 
which passes through the supports, c c, the latter being at- 
tached to the disk. These supports should be long enough 
to admit of the mirror turning entirely around without 
touching the disk, and are fastened in place by screws 
passing through the disk and into their ends. When the 



r\ 



Fig 3 



mirror is in place, cut the slit d parallel with the edge of 
the mirror, for the wire e to pass through. The manner 
of attaching the wire to the back of the mirror is seen in 
Fig. 3. The back is first covered with paper to prevent 



220 



A BOY'S SOLAR MICROSCOPE. 



its scratching ; then the wire is bent and laid in place, 
and lastly, a piece of very strong paper is pasted over 




Fzy.4 



the wire and entire back, and caught down over the edge 
of the front, forming a narrow frame to the glass ; the 
ends of this wire should pass through rather small holes 



A BOY'S SOLAR MICROSCOPE. 221 

in c c, so that it will not turn easily out of position. A 
handle (see /, Fig. 4) should be placed on the other side 
of the disk, and just across the lens from the slit d. 

Next take two pieces of wood, fifteen inches square 
and half an inch thick ; in the center of one cut a hole 
twelve inches in diameter, while in that of the other cut 
another round hole only ten inches across. In Fig. 4, 
which represents a section of this microscope, g is the 
central board of the screen, marked a in Fig. 1 ; h is the 
piece you have just made, with the central opening 
twelve inches in diameter ; and i is the second piece, 
which measures fifteen inches square, but has a hole of 
only ten inches diameter in its center ; d, which has a 
dotted surface, to distinguish it from the frame- work, is 
the large disk (Fig. 2), which, you remember, is just 
twelve inches in diameter, and, consequently, will exactly 
fit the opening in h ; if these edges are rough, sand-paper 
both with a coarse quality first, finishing them off with a 
finer kind. When d is in position, and moves easily but 
not loosely in h, place i over it and fasten it in place with 
screws, passing through i into Ji ; but h, of course, must 
first be strongly nailed or screwed upon g. 

You will now see that by turning the handle, f, the 
position of the mirror, which is fastened to this disk, can 
be easily changed so that it shall face in any direction, 
while by drawing the wire, e, it can be turned so as to re- 



222 



A BOY'S SOLAR MICROSCOPE. 



fleet the sun's rays through the lens, a, from whatever 
quarter of the heavens it may be shining. This double 
adjustment of the mirror and lens enables you to throw 
the rays of the sun through the opening in upon the ob- 
ject, o, at any hour of the day. As the mirror is ad- 
justed in Fig. 4, the sun must be very low, as its rays, to 
strike the mirror, would necessarily be nearly horizontal. 




Fiy-5 



The lens, a, should be held in place by two pieces of 
whalebone, bent around on either side of it, at the edge 
of the opening in d ; this lens is four inches in diameter, 
and has a focal length of nine or ten inches ; its adjust- 
ment had better be left till everything else in the micro- 



A BOY'S SOLAR MICROSCOPE. 



223 



scope has been finished. Fig. 5 shows the appearance of 
this when completed. 

As the outer part of the work is fitted, we will now 
turn our attention to the other, or inner, side of the 
screen. In Fig. 4, the board j is eighteen inches long 





Fig 6 



by ten inches wide, and half-an-inch thick. In the mid- 
dle is a small circular hole, one and one-half inches in 
diameter. This is fastened to the middle board, g, by 
the four horizontal posts, p, each six inches long. 

Now take a square piece of half-inch board, live 



224 A BOY'S SO LAM MIC EO SCOPE. 

inches across, cut a circular hole two inches in diameter 
in the middle, and fit into this hole a pasteboard tube 
four inches long, which is painted black on the inside. 
The edge of the circular hole in j should also be black. 
In Fig. 6, which represents this board, you will notice 
two cleats, I Z, fastened to the back of Jc ; these are also 
made of half -inch wood, and are five inches long by one 
wide. In Fig. 4, the position of Jc and I is seen in connec- 
tion with the longer piece,// the center of the openings 
in/ and Jc should form one and the same horizontal line. 
The opening between I and I is for the glass slides upon 
which the objects to be examined are placed. 

After these parts are fastened in their proper places, 
make a pasteboard tube, with a black inner surface, as 
represented at /?, about four inches in length, and inclose 
in one end two lenses, each one and one -ha If inches in 
diameter, and each having a focal length of four inches. 
Fit this tube in the one marked m. Now, having every- 
thing in place, fit in the lens, a, so that it will send the 
rays of light directly through the hole in j upon the 
object in Z, and fasten it securely in place with your bent 
whalebones. 

The screen upon which the image is thrown can be the 
opposite whitewashed surface of the room, if by a proper 
adjustment of the tubes the image can be made distinct, 
or it can be a sheet stretched over a frame-work of light 



A BOY'S SOLAR MICROSCOPE. 225 

wood ; the latter is preferable, as it can be more easily 
brought in focus. Of course, in this form, as in any- 
other "magic lantern," the nearer the screen to the lan- 
tern, the longer the tubes m n; but the image, which is 
smaller, gains in brilliancy of illumination, while with 
these conditions reversed, the results are the opposite ; 
a larger image, but less bright in appearance. The same 
light being spread over a larger surface is necessarily 
less strong. 

SOME OBJECTS FOR THIS MICROSCOPE. 

The objects which can be examined by aid of this in- 
strument are many in number, and can be readily pre- 
pared by simply inserting them between two pieces of 
glass, sufficiently small to slide in the opening I Z, and 
pasting bits of brown paper over the edges to hold them 
in place. 

In this manner the legs of flies and mosquitoes, the 
heads of the latter with their venomous sting ; hairs of 
the dog and cat, also from the human head ; tiny sections 
of human skin ; down from the butterfly' s w^ing, obtained 
by dusting off a few of the tiny particles upon a glass 
plate ; the pollen from different flowers ; spores of the 
puff-ball and tiny grains of dust, all make very interest- 
ing subjects for study, when magnified and thrown upon 

the screen in the darkened room. 
8 



226 SEA-MOSSES. 






One of the most interesting experiments with this form 
of the magic lantern is made by throwing the image of 
a drop of some solution, like sulphate of copper, upon the 
screen, and watching the process of its crystallization ; 
sulphate of copper and of iron ; hyposulphite of soda, 
which latter may be colored by adding a very little per- 
manganate of potash to the solution. 

The eels in a drop of vinegar, drops of stagnant water, 
and the larvae of the mosquito are also interesting objects, 
when viewed by the aid of this powerful magnifier. 



SEA-MOSSES. 



No boy who has lived on our coast, or, indeed, who has 
spent much time near the sea, could have failed to notice 
and admire the beautiful feathery mosses which sway 
about so gracefully under the surface of the water. The 
most delicate mosses are not found upon the open sea- 
beach, but in the more sheltered bays and inlets near the 
coast, and one who has never given them especial atten- 
tion cannot fail to be impressed by the great variety of 
form and color to be found within a small space of water. 
Ranging in color from the palest pink or straw to the 
deepest purple or brown, and from the lightest sea-green 
to the darkest shade of olive, they are capable of being 



SEA-MOSSES. 227 

arranged in most beautiful bits of coloring, while the del- 
icate, fine specimens, united with the coarser varieties, 
add to the effectiveness of the whole. To gather and 
arrange these mosses is not as difficult a task as most 
people imagine. Any boy can, with a little care, make a 
fine collection, which would be valued very highly by 
some inland friend who cannot reach the sea-shore every 
year, or perhaps not more than once or twice in a life- 
time. If any of you, my boy readers, have any such 
friend, do not fail to collect a quantity of the mosses com- 
mon to the waters near you, and arrange them on cards 
for their preservation. In gathering your mosses have an 
old tin can filled with water in the bottom of the boat, 
and after detaching from the stones, throw them imme- 
diately into the can. When you get home they can be 
left in the can of salt water over night, if you have not 
the time to attend to them at once ; or they may be put 
into a basin of fresh water, and left for awhile to wash 
away the salt and sand that remains on them. When they 
seem perfectly clean, take two or three carefully up on a 
bit of paper and throw them into a basin of clean water. 

Now the delicate part of the process is reached. Have 
a number of square pieces of unglazed paper at hand — 
ribbon paper is very good for the purpose — and thrust 
them carefully into the water under the bit of moss you 
desire to take out. With a long, slender darning-needle 



228 



SEA-MOSSES. 



carefully arrange the tiny filaments, so that they shall 
form a graceful composition, and raise the card carefully 
from the water. It is not necessary to exercise as much 
care with the coarser " silver mosses," as their more wiry 
branchlets naturally assume graceful positions, and the 




water flowing from the surface of the card does not so 
easily disarrange their positions. When all the mosses 
have been taken up on cards, fasten each to a table or 
shelf to dry. This is done by driving a pin through one 



8EA-M0SSES. 229 

corner of the card into the edge of the shelf or table, and 
allowing it to remain undisturbed until both the moss and 
paper are perfectly dry. They may now be mounted 
upon cards prepared for the purpose, and their names, 




with the locality where they were found, neatly written 
beneath ; or they may be preserved in a case or frame. 

The illustrations show two different arrangements of 
sea-mosses for the frame. In the first, that seen in Fig. 
1, they are glued upon a background of fine white card- 



230 ANTIQUES AND HORRIBLES. 

board, one layer superimposed above another, until they 
extend forward from the card for an inch or more. Their 
stems are finally covered by a small, well-striped scallop- 
shell which has been washed clean and varnished. It is 
perhaps needless to add that the effect is very pretty. 
The " silver mosses " are best adapted for this arrange- 
ment. 

The design given in Fig. 2 is quite grotesque in its ap- 
pearance^ and appeals rather more to the average boy's 
taste than the former arrangement. Red and brown 
mosses are used entirely, unless the effect seems too 
somber, in which case a little "silver moss" may be 
introduced on the back to lighten it a trifle. 

Tiny baskets, made of pretty scallop-shells nicely fitted 
together and varnished, are often filled with the coarser 
varieties of moss, and are very pretty ; but if they are 
unprotected from the dust they are soon destroyed, and 
unless covered with a glass case or inverted thin plain 
glass tumbler, they hardly pay for the trouble of making. 



ANTIQUES AND HORRIBLES. 

This is another of the mechanical toys which was com- 
mon during my childhood. The whole affair is so simple 
that a small boy could make it, in a less finished form at 



ANTIQUES AND HORRIBLES. 233 

least, and the most sullen little fellow in all the land could 
not fail to be amused by the grotesque procession of clowns 
and hobgoblins, kings and countrymen, birds and fishes 
and animals, whose names no naturalist could tell, and 
whose like was never seen on this earth before. This pro- 
cession travels on and on, as long as the crank is turned. 
The above illustration gives some idea of a few of the 
many members of the band, but any boy at all ingenious, 
will see that he has a variety — the more grotesque and 
outlandish the better the effect. Fig. 2 shows a section 
of the machinery ; the box-like covering is removed, and 
the frame-work exposed to view. First procure a board, 
a, about twenty by eight inches ; next two rollers upon 
which the band is to turn, for you must have seen that 
these little images are made of thin cardboard, attached 
to an endless band of strong cloth. These rollers should 
be rather larger than broomsticks, and held in place by 
four uprights, c. Only two of these can be seen in the 
cut. A table, d e, extends between the rollers and is sup- 
ported by four legs, /, which should be of sufficient 
length to make the top, d e, come just below the upper 
section of the band, g g are boards, the same width as 
the bottom, a, and of sufficient height to make a good 
foundation for the top, and to allow free passage of the 
procession. None of the figures should be much over 
three inches in height, and none should be attached to 



234 



ANTIQUES AND HORBIBLES. 



the cloth in more than one place ; that is, by only one 
foot, as they would be unavoidably torn in passing over 
the rollers if more firmly fixed. The top and front are of 



A 



:**■") 



-Tv; 



w 



*&* 



^J Js> to 



1 



3£!E 



5^ 



WWWff 1 




pasteboard, and the whole exposed surface is covered 
with pretty wall-paper. On the right roller at the back 
end, fix a small crank, or handle, and the machine is 
started by turning this. When about to give a grand 
exhibition, be careful to turn in the right direction, and 
not set the whole procession running backward, as you 
might easily do if unobserving or forgetful. The images 
are much more amusing if painted in bright colors. Use 
plenty of blue, red, yellow, black, and white paint, with 
a touch here and there of rich green and purple ; and you 
may perhaps almost make your audience believe that 
Fourth of July is here again, and they are viewing the 
" Antiques and Horribles" through the large end of a 
spy-glass. 



THE MUSICAL CHICKENS. 



235 



Tig. I 




THE MUSICAL CHICKENS. 



One of the most pleasing toys for children, which may- 
be counted among those made by boys themselves, is this 
little coop of chickens. Make a box like Fig. 1, leaving 
off the top and back boards until the works are placed 
within it. The little bars which separate the chickens 
are thin strips of wood. In Fig. 2, a represents one of 
the chickens, which is also made of thin wood and 
painted yellow ; a hole is made at 5, to allow the pass- 
age of a strong stiff wire, upon which the chickens turn, 
and by which they are also kept in place. At the end, c, 
of each, a strong piece of linen thread is tied through a 
small hole bored for the purpose, and each line is caught 
to a separate nail, driven in the bottom of the box, just 



236 



THE MUSICAL CHICKENS. 



below the chicken, in such a manner that when it is 
drawn tightly in place it will just touch the roller d. 
Fig. 1 shows just where each chicken is placed, and how 
far their heads protrude through the bars. The ends of 
the wire, 5, which holds them in place, can be fastened on 
one side by simply pushing one end into a hole bored 




partly through the wood to receive it ; the other should be 
slipped into a groove made for it, and fastened in place 
by a wedge nailed just above it when in position. Fig. 3 
shows the roller in full, and the little blocks or cams 
which are placed along its surface. These little cams 
are made of wood, not more than three-eighths of an 



THE MUSICAL CHICKENS. 



237 



inch thick, and are placed at such distances from each 
other along the roller that the middle point of each shall 
come opposite one of the threads. 

Between these blocks, but so situated that they will 
not come in contact with any one of the threads, are little 
quills, driven into tiny gashes made in the roller. These 
quills are an inch long, and should all be of the same 
length. One end of the roller is fitted with a crank, while 
the other is fastened in place by a wooden pin or long nail. 
Below this, at either end of the box, is a curved bridge, e, 



Fig. 3 



1X^ 



a 




t^t 



into which grooves are cut and slender brass wires drawn 
very tightly, as seen in a violin. The curve made by the 
wires, however, is unlike that in the above-named instru- 
ment, being concave instead of convex. Now it will be 
seen that by placing the roller in such a position that the 
quills will strike the wires with some force as the wheel 
revolves, a constant tinkling sound like that of a toy piano 



238 CAPTAIN S.'S PEG PUZZLE. 

is the result ; and at the same time, as the little blocks 
come in contact with the strings, they pnsh the thread 
backward, and in so doing lower the point c, and conse- 
quently raise the head of the chicken. The top of the 
extension in front of the bars is made of thin board 
and painted green, while a slight sprinkling of yellow 
over its surface represents the meal the chickens are 
supposed to be eating. The remainder of the box may 
be painted to suit the fancy of the maker. 



CAPTAIN S.'S PEG PUZZLE. 

One bright summer morning, which seems but a short 
while ago, unless I stop and count the years that have 
passed since then, we children were invited to take a sail 
across the bay with one of the kind-hearted old captains 
who owned a trim little cat-boat, which her owner was 
wont to boast would beat any other craft of her length in 
the harbor. But there was not much chance of beating 
anything on the morning of which I write, for, although 
a light northerly breeze was stirring when we intended to 
start, the girls of our party took so much time in which 
to get ready, that by the time we were fairly under way 
we were scarcely able to fill our sail. However, we man- 
aged to make some little headway, and in the course of 



CAPTAIN 8:8 PEG PUZZLE.. 239 

two hours reached the beautiful rocky point covered with 
its grove of fine old trees, which, but for the delay in 
starting, would have been reached much earlier in the 
day. This point was quite a favorite spot for excursion- 
ists, and was hailed with delight by most of our party. 
We boys, however, cared more for the little Sea Dog, 
and the companionship of old Captain S., than for the 
walks on shore. So, claiming our full share of the good 
things packed in the baskets stowed away in the cabin, 
we decided to remain on board and share our picnic with 
the captain on the bay. 

After all were on shore, and the hampers had been 
taken to the grove, we hoisted the sail and made for 
deeper water ; but there was no wind, and we had to con- 
tent ourselves with looking at the glassy surface around 
us, and feeling that we were in a boat away from shore, 
even if not in rapid motion. We ate our lunch as we lis- 
tened to a delightful story told by the captain, of how 
his ship was once chased by a pirate, and only escaped 
through the timely interposition of a snow-storm. We 
next tried our hands at the oars and rowed some distance 
further from the land. Finally, as we were about to re- 
turn for the others of our party on shore, a small piece 
of wood Fred found on the cabin floor changed the cur- 
rent of our thoughts, and we saw for the first time the 
little device I am about to describe. This bit of wood. 



240 



CAPTAIN 8:8 PEG PUZZLE. 



which he had picked up was a thin strip of a cigar-box 
cover. In one end was a circular hole about an inch in 
diameter, in the middle was a square hole of the same 
diameter, and at the extreme end was still another open- 
ing, in the form of an isosceles triangle, the perpendicular 
being of the same length as the side of the square. 




Fig. 



When Captain S. saw the piece of wood he challenged 
us each to make one peg which should exactly fit all 
three holes. "But it can't be done, Captain," we both 
exclaimed at once ; " the holes that have corners couldn't 
be fitted with a round peg, and the peg large enough for 
the square would be too large for the triangle," contin- 
ued Fred, as he examined the openings more carefully. 
" But it can be done," answered Captain S., with a pecul- 
iar kind of chuckle he always gave when very much 



CAPTAIN 8:8 PEG PUZZLE. 241 

pleased. "It can be done, for I have done it hundreds 
of times." 

He had done it hundreds of times ; had made one peg 
which should fit a round, a square, and a triangular hole, 
and fit them nicely ! How was it to be done \ We thought 
it over, and tried to study it out ; we even took out our 
jaekknives and whittled away at an old broken thole-pin 
which lay in the bottom of the boat. But we couldn' t 
make it work ; there were always the corners to be filled, 
and little spaces would be left if we tried to compromise, 
and make the pin less round as it increased in length ; 
then the triangle! that wouldn't accommodate itself to 
any shape we could devise. We whittled away for over 
an hour, now and again receiving a little encouragement 
from the captain, who greatly enjoyed our successive 
failures. During the meantime a brisk south-west wind 
had sprung up, and we were bounding over the water at 
a delightful speed ; but we paid little attention to the 
sail ; in fact, we hardly knew we were moving at all, so 
intent had we become to solve the mystery. After the 
others of the party came on board, we soon fired them 
with our enthusiasm, and every bit of available wood 
and every jackknife was brought into use. But not one 
of the party was bright enough to hit upon the right 
shape. I shall never forget the fun made of us by the 
girls — not one of whom, by the way, could sharpen a lead- 



242 



CAPTAIN 8:8 PEG PUZZLE. 



pencil decently — when the captain finally showed us how 
the thing was done. Asking one of the older boys to 
take the helm, he picked up a bit of wood we had thrown 
aside as too small, whipped out his jackknife, and in less 
time than it takes me to write it, had the peg made and 
fitted to the holes. How he made it fit so well in so short 
a time has never ceased to be a source of wonder to me ; 
but probably the practice of years, w^hile off on lonely 
whaling cruises, had something to do with his dexterity. 
He first whittled out a cylinder, which exactly fitted 
the circular hole ; then he cut it off, so that its length 
should be the same as the diameter of the square (see 
Fig. 2). Now, by putting this sideways into the square 





111 


\ 
\ 


jjj 




III 




JI 





Fiff-2 Ficj>3 Fig- 4 

opening, it fitted it perfectly. Lastly, leaving the base of 
the cylinder undisturbed, he cut away from either side 
until he had a shape like Fig. 3, which, when looked at 
from another point, presents the appearance of Fig. 4, 
and would, of course, perfectly fit the last and triangular 
opening. 



SLATE GAMES FOR CHILDREN. 



243 



SLATE GAMES FOR CHILDREN. 

A slate is one of the most useful presents which can be 
given to a child. Long before the little hands can fashion 
letters, or the infant mind comprehend them, the baby- 
fingers can make marks and scratches upon the smooth 
surface and derive considerable amusement from the ex- 
ercise. 

As the little one grows older, these meaningless scrawls 
gradually change to more intelligible forms, and then it 
is that the " Tit-Tat-To," so very old, and yet so delight- 
fully new, to every little girl or boy in their turn, comes 
into play. 



iSGgiiilig 



TIT-TAT-TO. 

This game is played on a figure similar to the above, 



244 8LATE GAMES FOR CHILDREN. 

made on an ordinary slate. The players alternately mark 
in the figure, the one a cross, and the other a nought ; he 
who first obtains a row, either horizontally, perpendicu- 
larly, or diagonally, wins the game, and calls out the fol- 
lowing rhyme : 

" Tit-Tat-To, my last go ; 
Three jolly butchers all in a row." 

The object of each of the players is equally to obtain 
such a row and to prevent his opponent from obtaining 
one. 

AIR, EARTH, OR THE SEA? 

This game — which is sometimes called Birds, Beasts, 
and Fishes — is instructive as well as interesting to chil- 
dren who have some slight knowledge of natural history. 
It is played as follows : Two boys take their slates, and 
each writes down the first and last letters of the name of 
some bird, beast, or fish, first stating whether it belongs 
to the air, earth, or water, or from which category the 
name is selected, and puts a cross for each of the inter- 
mediate letters. For example : James writes upon his 
slate T x x x r, and remarks, as he passes it to his com- 
panion, " the earth." Charles selects a bird and marks 
upon his slate as follows : E x x x e, saying, at the same 
time, "the air." They exchange slates, and each tries to 



SLATE GAMES FOB CHILDREN. 



245 



guess the name of the beast or bird indicated, and fills 
up the blanks accordingly. It is evident that those in- 
dicated above are respectively tiger and eagle. 



TUKKS AND RUSSIANS. 

The slate should be divided into three divisions, the 




top and bottom divisions each having a small compart- 
ment marked off therein, as shown in the annexed 
diagram. 



246 SLATE GAMES FOR CHILDREN. 

One of the two end divisions should be allotted to the 
Turks, and the other to the Russians, and marks put 
therein, to represent the soldiers of the respective na- 
tions. 

Each player having provided himself with a well- 
sharpened pencil, the game is played as follows : The 
players decide the order of play, and the first selected 
being supposed to be a Turk, places the point of his pen- 
cil at the spot marked in the smaller compartment of the 
Turkish division of the slate and draws it quickly across 
the slate in the direction of the opposing army. 

The pencil will, of course, leave a line marking its 
track, and all the men of the opposite side through which 
the track passes count as dead. Each player plays al- 
ternately, and he wins who first kills all the men on the 
opposite side. 

The track of the pencil must be rapidly made and must 
be either straight or curved ; any track in which there is 
an angle does not count. Sometimes the players turn 
their heads or close their eyes when making the track. 

THIRTY-ONE. 

Although this game is usually played upon a board 
similar to the one in the cut, and with small wooden 
blocks made for the purpose, a slate properly marked off 



SLATE GAMES FOR CHILDREN. 



247 



would answer very well for the board, and bits of paste- 
board, marked with the necessary figures, do equally well 
for the blocks. 

The game consists of playing these bricks or squares 
of pasteboard, so that the column added up makes just 
thirty -one. 

As only two persons play together, suppose William 




6 | 6 J 6 | 6 J 



and Mary are contestants. Mary commences the game 
by playing a six ; that is, she slides one of the blocks 
numbered six over to the right-hand side of the board. 
Then William plays block No. 4. This makes ten. 
Mary then plays two, and William follows with a five, 
making seventeen total. Now, some calculation is neces- 
sary if either will win. Mary, after some study, ventures 



248 SLATE GAMES FOR CHILDREN. 

a five, and William plays a six. It is now only necessary 
for Mary to slide No. 3 over to the right side, to make the 
total thirty-one and beat. 

That move of Mary's — which was made after consider- 
able deliberation — was not a safe one, as William could 
have moved over a one and made the total only twenty- 
three. This would require eight more to complete the re- 
quired thirty-one, and as six is the largest number on the 
blocks, William would have had the last play and gained 
the contest. 

Rules for Thirty-one. 

The object of each player is to gain thirty-one, or 
nearer thirty-one than his opponent, without going over 
that number. 

Put the blocks or bits of pasteboard on the left side of 
the board ; and each in turn moves any piece they like to 
the other side. 

Each player moves alternately one piece at a time. 

Add together the numbers on all the blocks moved. 
until one or the other gains thirty-one, without going 
over that number. 

The player gaining this number by his individual 
block wins. 

The final honor is given to him who wins three out of 
five single games. 



SOLITAIRE. 249 



SOLITAIEE. 



During the long winter evenings, we cannot have too 
many games to amuse the younger members of the house- 
hold, and a variety is always acceptable. 

Where the family is large and the means small, and 
especially in the country where boys are forced to rely 
upon their own devices in the way of amusement, few of 
the ready-made games find their way into the household. 

Now boys, and girls, too, let me whisper to you so 
softly that your city cousins may not hear — you are no 
losers because of that fact. A great part of the enjoy- 
ment of a thing consists in the making of it. And many 
of the games which are best enjoyed by children all over 
the land you can, with a little ingenuity and some trouble, 
perhaps, make for yourself. 

Among the many things which a boy can make, there 
are very few more interesting or fascinating than the sim- 
ple game of Solitaire, or, as it is more frequently called, 
The Peg Puzzle. 

Take a piece of smooth board, from nine inches to a 
foot square, cut out the corners as indicated in the illus- 
tration, and bore holes in the positions indicated by the 
dots. 

Out of soft pine or other suitable wood whittle thirty- 



250 



SOLITAIRE. 



two pegs, which are to fit into these holes ; the middle or 
thirty-third hole is to be left empty. 

The game consists in removing all the pegs excepting 
one from the board, and that one is to be left in the 
middle hole. 

This is effected, as in "checkers," by a series of capt- 







f 


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IX 

• 
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ures ; that is, when taken off the board, the peg re- 
moved must first have been jumped over by another 
peg. 

In beginning the game, peg No. 1 jumps over peg No. 
2, and is placed in the central hole. No. 2 is then removed 
from the board. As the hole occupied by No. 2 is now 
empty, peg No. 3 jumps over No. 4, and is placed in the 



BATTLEDORE AND SHUTTLECOCK. 251 

empty hole No. 2. No. 4 is removed, and the moves 
continue in like manner as those described. 

The following is a key to the solution of the puzzle, 
but should not be consulted until you find it impossible 
to accomplish the feat without its aid. 



KEY. 



1 to centre 


6 to 8 


20 to 19 


3 to 2 


13 to 2 


11 to 18 


5 to 4 


x to 1 


24 to 14 


2 to 3 


15 to 2 


26 to 25 


7 to 4 


16 to 14 


25 to 17 


8 to 6 


2 to 13 


28 to 14 


9 to 7 


18 to 11 


17 to 25 


11 to 3 


20 to 19 


29 to x 


7 to 4 


8 to 21 


x to 27 




22 to 20 


30 to 24 
32 to 25 
27 to centre, 



BATTLEDORE AND SHUTTLECOCK. 

If any of my young boy friends wishes to make a use- 
ful, and at the same time acceptable, present to a sister 



252 



BATTLEDORE AND SHUTTLECOCK. 



or girl friend, he cannot do better than make a set of 
this pretty and amnsing game. 

The battledore is readily made with a hickory stick 
and a piece of hoop, and the shuttlecock with a cork and 





a few short feathers. The forms of the two are shown in 
the illustrations. 

The game is played by two players, each having a bat- 
tledore, and each bats the shuttlecock from one to the 



BIJYG TOSS. 255 

other, the one failing to return it when it is batted to 
him within possible reach losing a point in the game. A 
game consists of twenty points, and the best two out of 
three games gains the match. 



RING TOSS. 



This light pastime for the summer lawn, or for the par- 
lor on a winter' s evening, is one of the most graceful and 
pretty games ever invented. Although particularly in- 
tended for the fairer sex, boys are generally the most 
skillful, if not the most graceful, competitors in the game. 

This game is played with a target-post, more or less 
ornamental, as the skill and taste of the maker may de- 
cree, and a number of light rings or small hoops, ranging 
from five to ten inches in diameter. 

The rings are nicely made of old hoop-skirt wires, bent 
in the desired shape, and strongly fastened with cords, 
the whole covered with bright silk or ribbon ; the greater 
variety of colors used the brighter the effect of the game. 
The ribbons need not necessarily be perfectly fresh, as in 
winding the rings any soiled spots can readily be hidden. 

It is also better to have the rings divided into three sets 
or sizes, and all those of each set as nearly as possible of 
the same size. For instance, if eighteen rings are to be 



256 CHECKERS. 

used, let six be about five inches in diameter, six more be 
seven or eight inches, and the remaining six to be ten 
inches across. 

The game is simply to toss the rings so as to fall on the 
target-post. The smaller the rings the higher the count. 

For the large rings one point is scored, for the next in 
size two points, and for the smallest or five-inch rings, 
three points — fifty points being a full game. 

The distance on a lawn which the player stands from 
the target-post is twenty-five feet. In the parlor it is fif- 
teen feet. 



CHECKERS. 

As I write the above title, I wonder if there is a boy or 
a girl in this great American land who does not own a 
checker-board, or does not know how to play this delight- 
ful game. The game was brought to us from England, 
we cannot say how many years ago, probably by the first 
settlers in these then lonely wilds. 

This game of checkers is a scientific one and is gov- 
erned entirely by calculation. So, in order to become a 
good player, one has to give considerable time and 
thought to the subject, which is perhaps as good mental 
discipline as many of our less interesting school studies. 



CHECKERS. 



257 



The game is played upon a board or table, divided off 
into thirty-two white and thirty-two black squares, with 
twelve white and twelve black men or checkers. 

The board can be made out of thin wood, or upon a 



5 


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31 


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strong piece of pasteboard, the white squares left the 
original color of the material used, and the black colored 
with ink or paint, whichever is most conveniently at 
hand. 



258 CHEGKEBS. 

For the checkers, small pieces of wood may be used, or 
black and white buttons be substituted in their place. 

The table or board should be so placed that each player 
shall have a black square at his right hand, if playing on 
the white squares, or a white square, if playing on the black. 

The men move obliquely forward until they arrive at 
the last, or the adversary' s head row, when they are made 
kings and can then move backward as well as forward. 

To distinguish a king from a common man he is 
crowned, by placing another checker of the same color 
on top of him, as soon as he reaches the king's row. 

The adversary's men are taken by leaping over them, 
and must be taken whenever offered or exposed. No 
move can be recalled after the man has been quitted; that 
is, after the finger has been removed from him. 

The players have the first move in each game alter- 
nately. 

Checkers may best be learned by playing, for awhile at 
least, upon a board on which the white squares are num- 
bered, some authorities advising the placing of permanent 
numbers in a corner of each white square, so as to be seen 
when the men are placed. 

The numbers are arranged as follows : 1 being on your 
right hand and 4 on your left ; number 5 the right hand 
of the second row, and 8 the left, and so on. See illus- 
tration. 



CHECKERS. 259 

The black men are placed upon 1 to 12 ; the white on 
21 to 32. 

In order to understand the game more readily, it may- 
be of some assistance to beginners to show how a simple 
game might be played. 

Suppose B., who has the black men, makes the first move 
from 11 to 15. W. follows him with 22 to 18. B. now 
moves from 15 to 22, jumping over 18, and capturing it 
by the move. 22 is now exposed, so W. is obliged to 
take it, and to do so moves from 25 to 18. B. now com- 
mences a new line of moving, and passes 8 to 11. W. 
moves 29 to 25 thus breaking his king's row. B. 4 to 8 ; 
W. 25 to 22 ; B. 12 to 16 ; W. 24 to 20 ; B. 10 to 15. Now 
W. moves 27 to 24, and loses the game by so doing. B. 
follows with 16 to 19, thus exposing 19. As it is a law in 
the game that the opposite side must take up the exposed 
men, W. is obliged to jump 19, and moves from 23 to 16 
in so doing. B. moves from 15 to 19; W. 24 to 15 to jump 
19 ; B. 9 to 14 ; W. 18 to 9, and captures 14. B. now sees 
15 and 22 exposed, and moves from 11 to 25, thus captur- 
ing both men by the act. W. 32 to 27 ; B. 5 to 14, jump- 
ing 9. W. 27 to 23 ; B. 6 to 10. W. 16 to 12 ; B. 8 to 11. 
W. 28 to 24 ; B. 25 to 29, and is made a king. W. now 
moves 30 to 25, but as 29 is a king and can move backward 
as well as forward, B. moves from 29 to 22 and jumps 25, 
but exposes the king, which is quickly captured by W., 



260 



CHECKERS. 



who moves from 26 to 17. Now both sides proceed m a 
quiet manner for a time, B. moving from 11 to 15, W. 20 
to 16, B. 15 to 18, W. 24 to 20. B. captures 23 by moving 
from 18 to 27, and W. takes 27 by jumping from 31 to 24. 
B. 14 to 18 ; W. 16 to 11, which is taken by B. who moves 
7 to 16. W., in turn, takes 16 with 20, which he jumps 
over to 11. B. 18 to 23 ; W. 11 to 8. B. 23 to 27, and 




W. now gains another king by moving 8 to 4. B. moves 
27 to 31 and also gets a king. The king, you remember, 
can move backward, so W. moves from 4 to 8 ; B. 31 to 
27. W. 24 to 20 ; B. 27 to 23. W. 8 to 11 ; B. 23 to 18. 
W. 11 to 8, and B. 18 to 15, which shows the game is lost 
toW. 

The two following problems are given for practice, and 
are intended to materially assist the learner in gaining 
some knowledge of the intricacies of the game. 



THE SPIRIT JEW'S-HARP. 



261 



SOLUTION TO NO 


. l. 






SOLI 


JTION TO N 


0. 2. 


Black to move and 


win. 






White to move and 


win. 


Black. 


White. 






White. 


Black. 


1st move 


6 to 1 


5 to 


9 


1st 


move 


18 to 14 


5 to 1 


2d move 


10 to 15 


9 to 


5 


2d 


move 


14 to 9 


lto 5 


3d move 


15 to 18 


5 to 


9 


3d 


move 


22 to 17 


5 to 14 


4th move 


1 to 5 


9 to 


6 


4th 


move 


17 to 10 


21 to 25 


5th move 


18 to 15 


21 to 


17 


5th 


move 


10 to 15 


25 to 30 


6th move 


5 to 1 


6 to 


9 


6th 


move 


15 to 19 


30 to 25 


7th move 


15 to 18 


9 to 


5 


7th 


move 


27 to 32 


25 to 22 


8th move 


18 to 22 


17 to 14 


8th 


move 


19 to 24 


20 to 27 


9th move 


1 to 6 


5 to 


1 


9th 


move 


32 to 23 


White wins. 


10th move 


6 to 2 


14 to 10 










11th move 


22 to 18 


1 to 


5 










12th move 


18 to 14 


White loses. 











THE SPIRIT JEW'S-HARP. 



During the Christmas holidays, when families are home 
for the season, and entertainments are the principal things 
desired in the long bright evenings, perhaps a few more 
tricks may not come amiss. 

Among these the spirit jew's-harp will be sure to amuse 
and at the same time mystify both the older and younger 
members of the company, who will probably form the 
audience on these Christmas or New-year's evenings ; and 
will form a pleasant entertainment between the acts of a 



262 TEE SPIBIT JEW'S-HARP. 

charade or the lapses in the music. Briefly described, 
the trick is as follows : 

A jew's-harp is placed in the mouth, and played upon 
for awhile with the finger in the ordinary way. Grad- 
ually, however, the performer moves his hand away, but 
continues the motion of playing some distance from the 
mouth, while the instrument continues to play quite as 
clearly and distinctly as before. The hand may wave 
above the head, or in any position, to show the audience 
that no thread or string is connected with the tongue of 
the instrument, but must keep up the motion of playing 
as long as the sound continues to come. 

Procure a jew's-harp with a very flexible tongue, and 
cover the end with a smooth ball of sealing-wax. Now 
place the instrument in your mouth with its tongue 
pointed inward, and if your tongue is placed against the 
ball of sealing-wax and suddenly pushed out, and as sud- 
denly released, a sound will be produced much as if it 
was pushed out in the ordinary way with the finger. 

After a time you will find it possible to produce differ- 
ent notes upon it, and with some practice will find it as 
possible to play tunes as by the common method. 

It will now be seen that during the whole performance 
the music is elicited by the tongue, and not by the finger 
as at first appears ; the placing the forefinger of the right 
hand to the mouth, and moving it as if playing in the 



A NEW WAY TO KINDLE THE FIRE. 263 

ordinary way, is simply a little ruse to mislead the 
audience. 

The performer should so stand that the light does not 
shine too strongly upon his face, and thus expose the ab- 
sence of the tongue of the jew's-harp, and a complete 
mastery of the instrument in the inverted position should 
be acquired before one attempts the trick in public. 



A NEW WAY TO KINDLE THE FIRE. 

There are many ways given for producing fire, but the 
following is the most unique, and at the same time con- 
venient, of all these various methods, as it consists in 
simply blowing the flame from the mouth, and so ignit- 
ing the camp-fire or whatever else one wishes to burn. 

To all appearances you fill your mouth with raw cot- 
ton, and then, taking a fan in your right hand proceed to 
make the fire. First a stream of blue smoke will be seen 
curling from your lips, and after a moment or two a 
bright spark will appear in the mass of cotton in the 
mouth. This spark is quickly followed by others until at 
last a clear bright flame bursts forth. 

Many of the audience may not believe that it is a gen- 
uine flame, but a paper may be lighted from it and 



264 A NEW WAY TO KINDLE THE FIRE. 

passed around the room, which will soon convince the 
most skeptical that it certainly is bond fide fire. 

To perform this trick, procure from a chemist a piece 
of amadon or German tinder. This is an inexpensive 
material, brown in color, and soft and silky to the touch. 
Tear off a small piece — perhaps as large as a dime — and 
roll it in a small bit of cotton wool, having already lighted 
one end of the tinder. Place this with other cotton in 
your hand, and you are ready to produce all the fire your 
audience may demand. 

First place the cotton which conceals the lighted tin- 
der in your mouth — it will not burn you — and then some 
of the loose cotton you have in your hand ; and remem- 
ber to draw the breath in through the nostrils, but breathe 
it out through the mouth. This will fan the tinder and 
in a moment ]ight the cotton in front of it, so that the 
smoke will begin to pass out with the breath ; then the 
sparks will appear, and finally the flame, as described 
above. While placing fresh cotton in the mouth, you 
may take advantage of the fact that your hand is before 
your mouth to let some of the burnt cotton fall out. By 
exercising a little tact your audience may be mystified for 
a long time, and, in fact, will probably be unable to guess 
the secret at all, unless you yourself divulge it to them. 



A HOME-MADE COMPASS. 



265 



A HOME-MADE COMPASS. 

Break a knitting-needle in two pieces, and magnetize 
one of the pieces by passing it two or three times over one 
of the poles of a strong magnet. Insert this piece through 
a small cork. Fix an ordinary needle in the end of the 
cork with the end projecting. 




Break the other piece of the knitting-needle into two 
equal parts ; and having wound one end of each with 
thread pass the other end into the cork, as seen in the 
illustration. 

Next procure a small brass thimble, deeply indented, 
and balance the cork upon it by dropping melted sealing- 
wax upon the thread- covered ends, first on one side and 
then on the other, until the equilibrium is established. 

A small round box is next needed, and having fitted 



266 



A HOME-MADE COMPASS. 



the top with a disk, like that seen in Fig. 2, cut the 
central hole large enongh for the easy movement of the 
cork. 

JNow place the thimble on the bottom of the box, hold- 
ing it in place with a few drops of glue. (Le Page's 
liquid glue is best for this, as for all occasions in which 
glue may be required in constructing the objects de- 




scribed in this book ) Balance the cork upon it, with the 
needle-point resting in one of the indentations on top of 
the thimble, the magnetic need]e having been temporarily 
taken out. Now adjust the cardboard disk in place. 

Lastly, insert the magnetized needle, and your compass 
is completed. 

This compass can be made very useful upon the various 



A HOME-MADE COMPASS. 267 

excursions into the woods which boys are always fond of 
taking, and, as a simple mechanical toy, much amusement 
may be derived from it. 

By presenting the south pole of the magnet to the 
north pole of the compass, and jerking it quickly away, 
the moment am of the needle will carry it around several 
times before the impulse is exhausted. 

The same experiment may be tried with the magnetized 
blade of a jackknife. 

The magnetic needle does not point to the north pole of 
the earth, but to a point called the magnetic pole. This 
variation, or declination, is, from the Atlantic region of 
this continent, a few degrees westward of the direct 
north. 

The arrow indicates about the average variation ; and if 
the compass be so placed that the needle will rest directly 
over it, the line £T. S. will more nearly indicate the true 
north and south. 

The card should be held in place not by glue, but by a 
few very short pins (filed off and re- sharpened). Then if 
the needle is shaken from its perch, the card can be re- 
moved to permit its re-adjustment. 



268 BOW TO MAKE A CIRCLE. 

HOW TO MAKE A CIRCLE. 

Many of the operations described in this book require 
the making of circles of various sizes. 

Those readers who own a pair of dividers, especially if 
they are furnished with a pencil-holder, will find this an 
easy matter. Those who are not as fortunate may be 
glad to learn the following ready way of describing circles 
accurately to any size desired. 

One of the common substitutes for dividers is a loop of 
string or thread passed around the pencil-point, and a pin 
inserted in the center of the proposed circle. This is a 
tiresome and vexatious method, as it is difficult to tie the 
loop at just the right length when a circle of a specified 
size is to be made, the stretching of the thread adding to 
the perplexity. The loop is also very ready to slip up 
and down on the pencil or pin, making it altogether a 
matter of unusual good fortune to obtain a satisfactory 
result. 

The better way is to take a strip of stout paper or thin 
card, about half an inch wide and a ]itt]e more than half 
the length of the circle's diameter. A strip cut from a 
postal card will serve the purpose admirably. 

Near one end of this make a hole large enough for 
the insertion of the pencil-point. Toward the other end 
make a pinhole, the distance of which from the first 



THE MAGNETIC CIRCUS. 



269 



hole must be half the diameter of the circle required. 
Stick a pin through this hole into the center of your pro- 
posed circle ; place the pencil-point in the other, and you 
can achieve your result with accuracy and ease. 




THE MAGNETIC CIRCUS. 

This mechanical toy is comparatively simple in its con- 
struction, and will serve as the foundation for one of the 



270 THE MAGNETIC CIRGU8. 

many Saturday shows, which are so dearly prized by 
most of the bright, active boys in onr land. 

A good-sized soap-box serves as a table on which the 
toy is to rest. The back is removed, and a ' hole cut in 
the top admits the passage of the crank. It is perhaps 
unnecessary to add that the exposed surface of this box 
should be papered, or covered with a cloth curtain, in 
such a manner as to give it a decorative effect. 

The attraction of a magnet or iron is the principle on 
which the " circus" is made to work. 

Procure or make from thin wood a box about a foot 
square, and five or live and a half inches deep. Cut a 
hole through the central point of the bottom, to allow of 
the passage of the crank. 

Now from a board cut a round disk which shall revolve 
easily inside the box, and pass through its center an 
axle which shall be long enough to form a support for the 
ring-master on the top or stage, and extend down through 
the top of the soap-box, where it ends in a crank by 
which the whole machinery is worked. On the top of 
this disk, and a short distance from the edge, fasten a 
common horseshoe magnet, which should be about four 
inches long, and can be bought at almost any toy store 
for ten cents. This must be fastened in an upright posi- 
tion by means of staples, as seen in the illustration. 

After the magnet is arranged so that it will revolve 



THE MAGNETIC CIRCUS, 



271 



easily, fit the top of the box with a stiff pasteboard cover, 
which shall just clear the magnet ; and mark upon this a 
circle which is to represent the ring of the circus. 



i wpmi : 



w 



iiiiiiHiUmli 



Out of stiff pasteboard cut the ring-master, and with a 
small nail or strong pin fix him in place. Now from four 
thicknesses of pasteboard cut out a horse and rider, some- 
thing like that represented in Fig. 3, and insert between 




the layers which form each forefoot, a nail, the head of 
which extends slightly below the pasteboard. File these 
nail-heads so that they shall be smooth and rounded. 



272 THE MAGNETIC CIRCUS. 

Glue the two layers together to form the legs of the animal, 
and spread them slightly apart, as seen in Fig. 4 (which 
gives an end view of the object), having already glued all 
four layers to form the body of horse and rider. 

Various horses of different colors, forms, 
positions, and with or without riders, may be 
made in a similar manner ; and elephants or 
other animals may be substituted for the 
horses, and made to move around the track, 
as if subject to the master' s whip. After the 
glue is dry, the outside edges should be 
rounded and the roughnesses removed by 
the use of a rasp and sand-paper. 
The ring-master should be so fastened, facing the horse, 
as to turn with each revolution of the axle. 

The back of the box is fitted with a pasteboard or cloth 
screen, painted to represent stage scenery, and supported 
on either side by uprights, from the top of which float 
banners. For further decorations the twigs of evergreen 
trees are added, those of the larch or spruce, or perhaps 
best of all the small branches of the juniper or cedar tree, 
are best for the purpose. When these tiny stage trees 
become brown and faded, they can be easily exchanged 
for fresh ones, or may be painted with green paint, if a 
new supply is not readily obtainable. 
The front of the box may be papered with fancy wall- 




TO PRODUCE RAISED FIGURES ON AN EGG. 273 

paper, or otherwise decorated to suit the fancy of the 
maker ; and the one who supplies the motive power, or, 
in other words, turns the crank, should be kept out of 
sight of the audience if possible. As the horses are not 
connected with any visible motive power, the cause of 
their revolution will be enveloped in a mystery which 
will add vastly to the entertainment of the little folks. 



TO PRODUCE RAISED FIGURES ON AN EGG. 

Melt some tallow, and with it paint on the shell of an 
egg, making letters, numbers, profiles, or any outline 
which your fancy may suggest, or the fineness of the 
brush may permit. Then immerse the egg in strong vine- 
gar. After the lapse of a few hours, whatever is covered 
with the lines of tallow will project slightly, the vinegar, 
which is mainly acetic acid, having dissolved away the 
unprotected surface. By painting with a fine brush an 
intricate scroll or vine pattern, carrying it all around the 
egg, the result is very pretty, giving somewhat the effect 
of carved ivory. 



274 TO FIND THE NUMBER OF DA TS IN THE MONTH 

AN ARITHMETICAL CURIOSITY. 

Write the nine digits in their order, and multiply them 
by 9 ; the result will be composed of units, excepting the 
next to the last, thus : 

123456789 
9 



1111111101 



Multiply by 18, instead of 9, and the product will consist 
of 2's. By 27, and it will be 3's. In this manner all the 
digits may be obtained by multiplying by the multiples 
of 9 ; as 36, 45, 54, etc. 



ONE WAY TO FIND THE NUMBER OF DAYS 
IN THE MONTH. 

Count the knuckles of the hands, with the spaces be- 
tween them; all the months with thirty-one days will 
fall on the knuckles, and those with less than thirty-one 
in the spaces. Thus, beginning with the forefinger of the 
left hand, July will come on the knuckle of the little fin- 
ger ; then beginning with August on the forefinger of the 
right hand, December will be reached at the knuckle of 
the third finger. 



SOME ELECTRICAL EXPERIMENTS. 275 

SOME ELECTRICAL EXPERIMENTS. 

Considerable amusement may be derived from the elec- 
trical phenomena manifested by a sheet of stout brown 
paper, when friction is applied to it. Having warmed 
such a sheet, and rubbed it with the dry palm of the 
hand, or some woolen fabric, giving six or eight smooth, 
steady strokes, with considerable pressure, and all in one 
direction, away from the body, then place a bunch of 
keys in the center of the paper, and lift it by the ends ; 
a spark of electricity may now be taken from the keys. 

If ordinary unglazed paper be immersed in a mixture 
of equal parts of sulphuric and nitric acids, then well 
washed with plenty of water and dried, it becomes ex- 
tremely electric. If placed on a wooden table, or, better 
still, on a waxed cloth, and rubbed with the hand, it at- 
tracts feathers, pith-balls, fragments of paper, or other 
small light objects. 

When suddenly stripped from the waxed cloth in a 
darkened room, the entire surface will have a luminous 
phosphorescent appearance. A spark can be taken from 
it by holding the finger about half an inch from the sur- 
face. If placed against the wall it will adhere to it and 
keep its place for several minutes. 

This paper retains its electrical properties a long time. 
When weakened, it is sufficient to slightly heat it to re- 
store all its energy. 



276 



THE ELECTROPHOBUS. 



THE ELECTROPHORUS. 

This instrument, whose name, derived from the Greek, 
means bearer of electricity, consists of two parts ; first, a 
cake or disk of resin, or of shellac and wax, these sub- 
stances being melted and poured into a tin mold ; second, 
a disk of brass, or sometimes of thin, well-dried wood, 
covered on each side with thin sheet-brass or even thick 
tin-foil. This should be fitted with a glass handle, to in- 
sulate it ; a stout, round bottle of moderate size will 
answer. The cake of resin is rubbed vigorously ; a sur- 
face of fur is the best to use for this, such as a cat-skin or 




fox-tail. The disk is then taken by the handle and rested 
on the cake, and its upper surface touched a moment 
with the finger ; then, on withdrawing the disk from the 



THE ELECTROPHORVS. 277 

resin, a bright electric spark can be obtained from it. By- 
resting it once more on the resin, again touching and 
withdrawing it, another spark may be elicited, and so on 
for eight or ten successive trials. 

The scientific explanation of this phenomenon is, that 
negative electricity is excited in the cake by friction. 
When the disk is applied, the electricity does not pass 
into it from the cake, but is induced in the disk by the 
law of electrical polarity ; the lower surface being cov- 
ered with positive electricity, while the negative is re- 
pelled to the upper side, from which it is drawn by the 
finger. Then, when the disk is lifted, the spark of posi- 
tive electricity may be drawn. 

If the construction of the instrument just described ap- 
pears too formidable a task to my young readers, perhaps 
they may yet be inclined to experiment with 

A SIMPLE ELECTROPHORUS. 

Take a lacquered iron " tea-tray ; " cut a sheet of stout 
brown paper so as to fit the flat part of the tray, and ^k 
two strips of paper at each end by means of sealing-wax. 
These strips serve as handles by which to lift the paper, 
and the sealing-wax, being a non-conductor, prevents the 
electricity from passing off. The tray is also insulated 
by placing it upon two tumblers. 

The sheet of paper is now heated quite hot, placed on a 



278 



THE ELECTROPHORUS. 



wooden table, and rubbed with a hard and very dry 
clothes-brush. Then it is lifted and placed on the tray. 

The paper is negatively electrified ; it induces a simi- 
lar state in the lower side of the tray, which should be 
touched a moment with the finger ; then lift the paper 
from the tray. An electric spark can now be taken from 
the latter. 




The strips by which the paper is lifted can be brought 
together, and held by the thumb and finger of one hand, 
leaving the other free to take the spark. The paper may 
now be replaced. By touching the lower surface of the 
tray, and lifting the paper as before, another spark may 
be obtained, and so on for several times, if the air be dry. 



A LEYDEN JAR. 279 

THE EBONITE ELECTEOPHORUS. 

This piece of apparatus, also called Pfeiffer's electro- 
phorus, is composed of a thin sheet of ebonite, measuring 
about six by eight inches. A small sheet of brass, about 
five by three inches, is fixed on one side. With this, 
electricity may be evoked with unusual readiness. 

It is placed flat on a wooden table, and rubbed succes- 
sively on both sides with the open hand ; if lifted in the 
left hand, and the right hand is presented to the brass, a 
spark will be received. 



A LEYDEN JAU. 

This may be made as follows : Fill a plain glass tum- 
bler two- thirds full of shot ; insert the bowl of a spoon in 




the shot, leaving the handle projecting. Hold the turn 



280 THE PITH DANCER. 

bier in the hand, and bring the handle of the spoon near 
to the electrophorus — previously prepared for action — so 
as to receive its spark. On repeating this a few times, 
the electric fluid will be accumulated in the "jar," and 
the many small sparks may be obtained as one large one, 
by approaching the finger to the spoon, still holding the 
tumbler in the other hand. 

This idea may be varied by using a large wide-mouthed 
bottle or small jar, instead of the tumbler, and covering 
the outside nearly up to the top with tin-foil. If that 
rare treasure, a bullet- mold, is to be had, a ball may be 
formed on the end of a stout wire, and used instead of 
the spoon, the end with the ball being the projecting one, 
thus making an article corresponding more nearly to the 
regular professional pattern. 



THE PITH DANCER. 

This fastidious little skipper never dances except to 
piano music. It is fashioned from pith, cork, or other 
light material. Generally it has a human head and 
body ; but when we consider its dancing extremities, we 
must regard it as a quadruped, or even a tripod, as the 
case may be ; for it stands on three or four stout hog's 
bristles. These may be borrowed from the floor- brush, 



THE OBEDIENT BOTTLE. 281 

and should be even at the lower ends, that the dancer 
may stand erect. It should be painted in a gay and con- 
spicuous manner, to compensate for its diminutive size, 




and a mantle of colored tissue-paper may add to its con- 
sequence. When the image is complete, stand it on the 
sounding-board of the piano, which should be operated 
with vigor. The dancer will respond to the lively notes 
with edifying briskness and vivacity. 



THE OBEDIENT BOTTLE. 

Fashion a shape like a small bottle, out of pith, paper 
pulp, or some other light substance. Cut a bullet in two, 
and fasten the base of the bottle to the flat portion of one 



282 



THE OBEDIENT BOTTLE. 



of the halves. A straight piece of large wire, the length 
of the bottle, should be provided, and a hole made down 
through the center of the bottle, into which it will slide 
readily, and remain with the end out of sight. This hole 



% 



D 




may be made with greater ease before attaching the 
bullet. This object can be made to yield apparent obe- 
dience to the commands of its maker. If he orders it to 
remain upright, he will place it on the table without in- 
serting the wire, when nothing but constant pressure will 
induce it to lie prostrate. Then, taking it into his hands, 
and skillfully introducing the wire while the attention of 



A TRIPLE BRIDGE. 283 

the observers is directed elsewhere, he next orders it to 
lie flat ; and, as the weight of the wire overbalances it, it 
will tumble over as often as it is set up. 

The bullet should be covered with thin paper as 
smoothly as possible, and the whole affair painted, to 
better conceal the modus operandi. 



THE IMMOVABLE CARD. 

If a card, such as an ordinary visiting card, is turned 
down about a quarter of au inch at each end, at right 
angles to the rest of the card, and then placed on a table 
so as to rest on the turned edges, you may safely chal- 
lenge most persons to blow it so as to make it turn over 
on the other side. It would naturally seem easier to over- 
turn a card so prepared, than one whose shape remained 
unchanged ; but whoever tries it will find that the facts 
are otherwise. 

The card can be overthrown, however, by blowing on 
the table, toward the card, as the stream of air is then 
reflected against its under side. 



A TRIPLE BRIDGE. 

This may be constructed by means of three table-knives, 
in the manner illustrated in the figure. Three goblets or 



284 AN ILLUSTRATION OF "INERTIA* 

tumblers will serve as the piers ; these are to be arranged 
in a triangle, a little farther from each other than the 
length of the knives. Lay two of the knives on the table, 
with the blades crossing each other. Then pass the blade 



of the third knife over the uppermost blade of the other 
two, and under the undermost ; then take them up and 
place them with the ends of the handles on the rims of 
the glasses. The bridge now sustains itself, and if a mod- 
erate weight be placed upon it, it will be all the firmer. 



AN ILLUSTRATION OF " INERTIA." 

Inertia is defined as the tendency of a body to perse- 
vere in its state either of rest or motion. It is generally 



AN ILLUSTRATION OF "INERTIA." 285 

used in the sense of persisting in a state of rest. Among 
the many illustrations of this property of matter, is one 
which figured in the text-books of thirty or forty years 
ago, and which the boys of that time adapted to their 
amusement by constructing the apparatus here illus- 
trated. 

It consists of three parts : the board which forms the 
base, a post about six inches high, and a strip of stout 
whalebone, or dry, elastic wood. 

The board should be as much as seven-eighths of an 
inch in thickness, and the elastic strip or spring should 
be firmly inserted in an inclined slit cut through the 
board. The places of the spring and post should be so 
adjusted to each other, that when the latter is secured 
solidly by a good-sized screw passing up through the 
board, the former will press with its upper end against 
the top of the post (as shown by the dotted line) with 
some degree of force. 

The top of the post should be hollowed slightly, to re- 
tain the ball ; and the appearance of the whole will be 
improved by a coat of shellac or paint. 

Now place a card on the top of the post ; and if it is 
sufficiently level, a marble or bullet may be induced to 
remain on it, directly over the column ; if not, a large 
bean, a spool, or a coin, will prove more tractable. Draw 
back the spring with the thumb and finger, as in the il- 



286 AN ILLUSTRATION OF "INERTIA." 

lustration ; let it go suddenly, and it will snap the card 
away, leaving the superimposed object resting quietly on 
the top of the column. 

The same principle is sometimes illustrated by balanc- 
ing a card on the finger, placing a coin on the card, and 




snapping away the card with the other hand, the coin 
remaining on the finger. 

Another way is to pile up a small tower with ''check- 
ers" or " draughts." By a quick blow with a ruler, one 
checker may be knocked from between the others, with- 
out overturning the tower. 



OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 287 

OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 

Perhaps one evening of this ever delightful season 
might not be more entertainingly spent than in witness- 
ing an exhibition of some feats in Magic, if any lad of 
the company could become sufficiently expert in the art 
to render them with a fair amount of skill. 

There are many of these mysterious tricks performed 
by the professional "Thaumaturgist" or " Prestidigita- 
teur," but as most of them require a complicated or ex- 
pensive apparatus, I shall only call your attention to 
such as are comparatively simple, and require but few 
" aids" or materials for their fulfillment. 

HOW TO PALM A COIN. 

As it is necessary for any boy or girl who intends to 
become an expert sleight-of-hand performer to be a suc- 
cessful pa 7 ver, this is naturally the first lesson to be 
learned. Indeed, very few of the tricks performed by an 
expert prestidigitateur would be effective without its use. 

To explain this art is difficult, although it is an easy 
matter to show how the thing is done. By the aid of an 
illustration may be seen, however, the final position of 
the coin, or how it is held while it is palmed. 

If possible, balance a half-dollar on the tip of the 
second finger of the right hand ; but if not at first easily 



288 



OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 



accomplished let the coin rest on the tips of the second 
and third fingers, steadying it, in this position, by touch- 
ing it lightly with the thumb. Close the hand quickly 
and the coin will rest in the palm. Then, by throwing 
the thumb forward, the ball of the thumb will hold the 
silver piece on one side, and that part of the palm which 





lies between the second and third fingers holds it securely 
on the other. 

Practice this well, and be sure you can depend upon 
yourself to accomplish it perfectly with the left as well as 
the right hand, before you try any of the following tricks 
in the presence of a critical audience. 



HOW TO PASS A COIN. 

Borrow of your audience two half-dollars and lay them 
on your table. 



OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDA Y AMUSEMENTS. 289 

Next shake your sleeves and let your friends see that 
you have no coins hidden about you. When they are 
convinced that such is the case, pick up one half-dollar 
with the thumb and second finger of your right hand. 
Palm this in your right hand while you pretend to pass 
it to your left, of course making a motion with the left 
hand as if it received and still held the coin. 

The right hand will then seem to be empty, although 
still holding the half-dollar. Next pick up the other coin 
with the right hand, and place the hand behind you, be- 
ing careful to keep the left well in front, and always in 
sight of your audience. Make some few remarks con- 
cerning the difficulty of the trick, and at last pronounce 
the magic word "Pass"; at the same time clink the two 
coins together, as if one had hit the other in the meeting. 
Then bring the right hand forward, and, opening it and 
the left at the same time, show that the coin has actually 
left the latter and entered the former, as you promised it 
should do. 

HOW TO BOB PETER AND ENRICH PAUL. 

Twenty pieces of money are necessary for this trick ; 
and two-cent pieces, or quarters, are perhaps the most 
convenient sizes to use. Of these, borrow fifteen from your 
audience, the other five have at hand, but concerning 
which your friends are to know nothing. 
10 



290 OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS, 

Having borrowed them from the company, count out 
five, and give them to one of your audience, while to an- 
other you give ten, and after having seen that the latter 
counts his carefully, take those given to the first, mutter 
some cabalistic nonsense, and order them to pass into the 
hands of the one who has the ten pieces. Finally, request 
him to count them again, when, strange to relate, he will 
find that he has fifteen, instead of the ten pieces which 
he was supposed to have. 

The trick is performed in this manner : Upon receiving 
the money, throw it upon a plate or box cover — the plate 
is the best — and passing it to the first person, request him 
to take ^ve of the pieces away. Now give the remaining 
money, with the plate, to the second, and ask him to 
drop each coin as he counts it, on the plate, that all may 
know he has counted correctly. 

Then comes the only difficult part of the trick. Ask 
the one who has counted the coins to hold both his hands, 
while you pour the money into them, and taking the 
plate in your left hand, pour the contents into your 
right, where you have already Jim more palmed (the five 
the audience have not seen). Now pour the fifteen into 
the hands of number two, and impress upon him the im- 
portance of keeping his hands well closed over the money. 
This will prevent his noticing that an addition has been 
made. Take the five from person number one, and pre- 



OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 291 

tend to place them in your other hand, but instead palm 
them. Do your talking and command the money to pass. 
If you have taken proper care in palming your coins, the 
audience, as well as the one holding the money, will be 
greatly amazed by the trick. 

DANGER OF REPETITION. 

In almost any performance of this kind, the audience, 
especially if of one's intimate friends, are anxious for the 
performer to try again whatever strikes them as strange 
or mysterious, being of course on their guard to watch 
certain movements, at points in the performance which 
they had scarcely noticed before. 

So it is very unsafe to try any trick over again imme- 
diately after it has been once performed, or in fact during 
the same evening ; although perhaps it might be safely 
done if a number of different ones intervened. If be- 
seeched to try it " just once more," make as graceful an 
excuse as you can, and suggest in its place something 
equally interesting. 

THE INEXHAUSTIBLE HAT. 

For this trick, seven half-dollars are required, and are 
concealed in the right hand by " palming," as the five 
two-cent pieces were hid in the former trick. 



292 OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 

First, borrow of one of your audience a tall silk hat, 
promising to return it "as good as new" at the end of 
the performance. Let the audience examine it to see 
that the owner is not in league with yourself, and then, 
walking to the back of the room, place it upon a table. 
While walking toward the table, with the back toward the 
audience, palm your coins, which should be held in some 
convenient pocket, readily accessible when the moment 
comes for using them. 

Next, turn to your audience, having your coins well 
concealed in your right hand, and request some one to 
lend you six half-dollars ; but immediately, under the 
pretense of disliking to trouble them, step forward, and, 
excusing yourself for the liberty, take a coin from the 
folds of a lady's dress, by simply letting one of those 
concealed in your hand slip to the end of your fingers. 
If you have had sufiicient practice in "coining" you 
will find no difficulty in doing this, and your audience 
will be inclined to believe you actually found the money 
secreted in the fabric, although they may believe you 
had some hand in placing it in its hiding-place. 

If you have been thus far successful, go to the hat, and, 
calling attention to the fact, drop the half-dollar into it ; 
then, as if you imagined some one was doubtful whether 
the coin was really in the hat, make some remark to the 
effect that if they do not believe you dropped it you will 



OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 293 

do so again, at the same moment thrusting your hand 
down to the crown to take it in sight again. 

At the moment the hand is in this position, carefully 
place the six half-dollars on the bottom, and let one 
remain in the palm. Pick up one of these six, and hold- 
ing it high, let it drop, being careful, however, that it 
does not hit the other live. 

The coin in your hand you proceed to take from any 
unusual place which may occur to you — the window cur- 
tain, portiere, a gentleman's beard, or a lady's coiffure, 
are those most naturally suggested. As soon as yon take 
a half-dollar from its hiding-place, you pretend to place 
it in your left hand, and from there command it to pass 
to the hat, but in reality you palm it in your right where 
it is ready for the next position from which you desire to 
take it. Proceed in this way until you have gathered in 
six half-dollars. 

As these have been lying quietly in the hat during all 
this time, you have no anxiety about sending them there, 
and must simply avoid going near it while apparently fill- 
ing it with the money. When the last silver piece has 
been sent to its destination, request the audience to select 
some one of its members to count the money in the hat, 
and see that none has been lost in its flight hence. It 
will, of course, be found all right, and great will be the 
curiosity to know how you placed it there ; but do not 



294 OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 

allow yourself to be influenced into trying it a second 
time, for with the close watching you will undergo your 
secret will be discovered. 

ANOTHER HAT TRICK. 

The hat may well be called " inexhaustible," for all 
manner of things may be made to come from its prolific 
crown, and in such profusion, that a receptacle of double 
its size would hardly contain them. 

If two boys have learned the art of palming well, they 
may assist each other, and, if at all ingenious, invent a 
variety of tricks for an evening's amusement. 

The following is but a suggestion, which may be varied 
by different materials : 

Let them borrow from the audience two tall silk hats, 
and place them upon chairs standing some distance from 
each other. Each having provided himself with a small rub- 
ber ball — the one resembling the other as nearly as possi- 
ble — they are ready to proceed. The hats were of course 
empty when passed to the stage, but as the first boy 
takes his place, back of the chair which contains a hat, 
he should glance down into it, and with surprise, draw 
out a ball which he has had concealed in his right hand, 
show it to the audience and then pretend to put it in his 
left hand, but instead palm it in the right ; at the same 
time extending his left toward his partner. The second 



OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 295 

boy stretches out his right arm as if to receive the ball, 
and at the moment his hand touches the fingers of No. 1, 
he lets that which he has been palming in his right hand 
slip down to his fingers, as if he had just received it from 
his friend. Now, pretending to change it to his left, he 
palms it, as No. 1 has done, and finally drops his left 
hand, which is supposed to hold the ball, into the hat in 
front of him, at the same time giving the side or crown a 
rap with one of his fingers, to imitate the falling of the 
ball. This same thing may be repeated indefinitely, until 
you have balls enough to stock the village. When you 
see the audience is beginning to tire, let No. 1 say, 
" My hat is empty ; shall I help you count the balls in 
yours?" No. 2 nods assent, and looks down, as if ex- 
pecting the hat to be full. He must then pretend great 
surprise, and taking up the hat must turn it upside down, 
gently shake it — remembering it is borrowed — and with 
the audience wonder what has become of all the balls. 

Eggs, small lemons or oranges, little china dolls, and a 
number of small toys may be substituted for the rubber 
balls above given. 

THE PERAMBULATING EGG. 

This trick is one of the easiest, while at the same time 
one of the most pleasing, of the magician's arts. In it an 
egg, apparently without any impulse beyond that which 



296 OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 

resides within itself, travels over a hat, and after recon- 
noitering it in its every nook and corner, passes gracefully- 
over to another, and commences its journey of discovery 
around the second in much the same manner it has 
traversed the first. 

Two hats are borrowed from the audience, and a dish of 
eggs is placed upon the table by their side, when the per- 
former requests the lady stationed at the piano to give 
some music, and the exhibition commences. The egg 
which is used is merely a shell, the inside having been 
sucked or blown out through tiny holes made at either 
end. A slender silken thread is tied to the upper button 
of the performer's waistcoat, while attached to the other 
end is a small piece of wax or other sticky substance. 
Just before the performance commences, show the dish 
of eggs, and then pass away from them and back of your 
audience, to show that they (the eggs) are in no way 
attached to your person. 

As the music strikes up, walk to the table, take the 
shell from the dish, making it appear that you had no 
choice, but took the first one you chanced to touch, and 
place it inside the hat, at the same moment pressing the 
bit of wax to its side. 

As the egg is in the hat it is necessary for it to pass out 
upon the outside surface. To do this the hat is slowly 
moved downward until the egg is even with the brim ; 



OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 297 

then by careful management and a little practice, the 
effect is produced of the egg walking up the hat instead 
of the hat being lowered to the egg. You may now take 
the egg in your hand and, holding the hat with the crown 
upward in a horizontal position, place it beneath the 
egg, and turn it slowly away from yourself. The effect 
will be that the egg is traveling up hill. By placing the 
other hat close to the one upon which you are perform- 
ing, and slowly drawing it under the egg, the latter will 
appear to pass over to the crown of the second hat, and 
very much the same movements may be repeated on this 
as on the first. 

THE MAGIC DISPATCHEK. 

Borrow a quarter or half-dollar from your audience, 
and ask the owner to place some mark upon it by which it 
may be identified. Wrap this in the corner of a hand- 
kerchief, and give it to some one to hold. Next take a 
ball of yarn, and having placed it in a tumbler, ask some 
other person in your audience to hold his hand over the 
top of the tumbler in such a way that the ball will be 
kept in place, and the yarn will run smoothly through 
the fingers. Hold one end of the yarn some distance 
from the tumbler, or near where the coin is held, and in- 
form your audience that, as your dispatcher is in good 
working order, you will proceed to send the coin your 



298 OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 

friend has in his hand into the very center of the ball of 
yarn. Take the opposite corner of the handkerchief from 
the one holding the money in your right hand, and hav- 
ing counted one, two, three, command the coin to pass, at 
the same instant snatching the handkerchief from your 




friend's hand. Next commence to unwind the ball, be- 
ing careful to keep some distance from the tumbler while 
so doing. 

As the yarn is nearing its end, the silver piece will drop 
upon the bottom of the tumbler, and nothing is left for 
you to do but to request the owner of it to step forward 
and see if it is the one he lent you. 

In this, as in many of the tricks you have already 
learned, very little preparation is required. First, a coin 



OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 299 

of the same denomination as the one borrowed is sewed 
in a corner of the handkerchief. The ball is wonnd upon 
a stick of a particular shape, which is drawn out when 
the coin is to be substituted in its place. This stick 
should be about two and a half inches long, one and 
a quarter inches wide, and an eighth of an inch thick, 
rounded off at one end, and scraped until it is perfectly 
smooth. 

When winding your ball, be careful to have the 
rounded end of the stick in the center of the ball, and 
the other end projecting slightly on one side. 

After you have procured your coin, palmed it, and 
given the handkerchief containing the other into the 
hands of some person to hold, go for your ball, which 
should be at some distance from your audience, that you 
may have time to draw out the stick and insert the coin 
in its place, while you are walking back to the table 
upon which is your tumbler. 

The trick is now done, but the audience must be kept 
ignorant of the fact, while your conversation and subse- 
quent acting should shroud it in all the mystery possible. 

THE TURKISH KING TRICK. 

A few years ago I had the good fortune to see a famous 
magician perform. Many and wonderful were the things 



300 



OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 



he did, and at times it seemed as if other than human 
skill mast be aiding him in his craft. 

Among others, he gave the following trick, which was 
as enthusiastically applauded as many of the others. It 
had for me no element of strangeness, as I was already 
initiated into its secret. Since it has ever been a favorite 
in the little amateur performances we have from time to 
time been in the habit of giving, I hope it may gain a 
wider popularity in the larger circle of friends to whom I 
am about to disclose it. 

To the public it appears as follows : A plain gold ring 
is borrowed, placed in a handkerchief, and given to a 
person to hold. A small stick is held by two others, in 
such a position that its center is hidden by the handker- 




chief ; each person holds an end. The magician com- 
mands the ring to pass, at the same moment snatching 
the handkerchief, a corner of which he has taken, away 
from the one holding it — when behold ! the ring, which a 



OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 301 

moment ago was in the spectator' s hand, is now whirling 
around the stick, which it evidently has just reached. 

It is performed as follows : When the ring is taken 
from its owner, it is palmed, and not placed in the hand- 
kerchief, as one is led to suppose, the handkerchief being 
supplied, as you probably have already guessed, with a 
ring which is sewed in its end. In passing the stick to 
the holders, you have simply to pass it through the right 
hand, in the center of which your ring is palmed, and, 
of course, through the ring itself. Then, holding it until 
it is hidden by the handkerchief, is not difficult to do. 
When you first take up the stick, be sure and use your 
left hand, so that you will have it ready to pass through 
your ring without any awkward or suspicious movements. 
Finally, pulling the handkerchief suddenly and quickly 
across the stick, causes the ring to whirl upon it very 
much as if it had just dropped in its place. It is always 
well, when performing with the handkerchief, to have a 
second and similar one in your pocket, to show in case 
suspicion should be aroused concerning it. 

HOW TO MELT AND BE-COLTST A HALF-DOLLAB. 

Supply your table with a candle in a light candlestick, 
and a glass of water. When ready to perform, request 
some one of your audience to lend you a half-dollar, sug- 
gesting at the same time, that a new bright coin would 



302 OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 

best suit your purpose. Have it marked that the owner 
may be sure of its identity. 

If nothing but dull coins are to be found, have a small 
bottle of ammonia at hand, and holding the piece in your 
hand, pour a few drops of the liquid upon it ; let it stand 
a few moments and then wipe with a bit of cloth. Treat 
both sides in the same way, and brighten up the edges in 
like manner. All this while you may be talking of this 
treatment, as if it were intended to render the metal more 
fusible, but be careful not to mention what the fluid is, 
or for what it is really intended. This treatment is, of 
course, not necessary in the case of new coins, in which 
case it can be omitted. 

When the silver is bright, a,nd presents the appearance 
of a new coin, take it between the thumb and forefinger 
of your right hand, look at it carefully, and then pretend 
to drop it into your left hand, but instead palm it in your 
right. 

Now continue to move your left hand as if working the 
coin around in it, keeping up a continual flow of small 
talk during the whole performance. The difficulty of 
melting silver, the amount of heat required, and the com- 
parative hardness of different metals, forming good sub- 
jects, with which you will become familiar before your 
public exhibition. 

To render the idea of palming an apparent impossi- 



OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 303 

bility, take up the candle in your right hand. This will 
render the holding of the coin less troublesome, and ap- 
pear to your audience as a conclusive evidence that the 
half-dollar is in your left hand. 

After you have pretended to place the coin in your 
left hand, do not for an instant forget to appear as if it 
really was there, and keep that hand always in sight of 
your audience. 

Having taken the lighted candle in your right, hold the 
left hand above the flame, and move the fingers as if al- 
lowing the silver to pass down, drop by drop, into the 
candle itself. If, just before this, previous to taking the 
candle, you could catch up the glass for a drink and drop 
a spoonful of water into the hollow of your left hand, the 
dropping of it into the candle-flame would add to the 
impression of melting silver. You can wet your hand 
slightly in many natural ways, as no one would imagine 
the water had anything to do with the trick. Continue 
to pretend to drop the silver, until it would naturally be 
gone ; then, without removing your hand, open it and 
announce that the half-dollar is melted, and can be found 
in the candlestick ; assuring the donor that he need not 
be alarmed, as you can bring it out as it was before it 
went in, if he will but have patience. 

Put the candlestick down upon the table, and pretend 
to pick out bits of silver from the various parts of it with 



304 OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 

the right hand, placing them as they are gathered in the 
palm of the left hand. At a convenient moment, when 
the right is exactly above the left hand, drop the half- 
dollar into it, and the trick is done. But it would not do 
to let the audience know this, so you must continue to 
work the left hand as if molding the coin in shape, blow- 
ing with the mouth into the palm as if cooling the heated 
mass ; toss it from hand to hand as if to cool it more 
rapidly, and finally return it to the spectator from whom 
it was borrowed. 

BURNING THE CENTER FROM A HANDKERCHIEF. 

The young performer will find but little difficulty in 
performing this simple sleight-of-hand trick successfully. 
A lighted candle, a small stick, or magic wand, and a 
piece of thin cambric or muslin about six inches square, 
are the materials required. 

Place the lighted candle on your table, and the wand 
on another table or shelf some distance from the former 
with the bit of cambric behind it. 

Now borrow of some lady present a handkerchief, a 
gentleman's being inconveniently large. Take the hand- 
kerchief by the center, pull it carefully between the fin- 
gers and thumb of left hand, and advance toward the 
candle. 

Just as you are about to burn it, stop and say, as if in 



OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 305 

answer to some remark overheard, "Oh, no, I have not 
changed the handkerchief. See ! " and at the same time 
allow another inspection of it. 

Suggest now to its owner, if, in case her handkerchief 
is burned, she would like it restored again to its proper 
condition ; and, upon her answering in the affirmative, 
announce the necessity of the magic wand for that pur- 
pose. Walk to the spot where the wand is lying, and 
take it up, managing to pick up at the same time between 
the left thumb and forefinger the bit of cambric ; the 
center of this piece should be pointed outward so that it 
may be readily pulled out at the desired moment, the 
remainder being neatly rolled up and palmed under the 
thumb. This piece should have been rolled up with the 
central point slightly projecting when first placed on the 
shelf, and the performer should manage to turn his back 
toward the audience for a few moments when taking up 
the wand. 

Place the wand in one of your coat pockets as you 
advance toward your candle, and again take the hand- 
kerchief, putting it this time into the left hand, and pull 
up the small piece of material, completely hiding the 
center of the real handkerchief between the second and 
third fingers and the palm of the hand. 

The portion of the cambric extending beyond the 
thumb and forefinger may now be safely burned, and 



306 OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 

the audience may be sure the handkerchief is burned, as 
you can make some display of rolling it up in a ball, tak- 
ing care, however, to separate the burned piece from the 
real article. Now take the wand from the pocket, and 
at the same time manage to drop the small semi-burned 
piece of muslin unperceived into the pocket ; touch the 
handkerchief with the wand, and, after some magic word 
or words, return the handkerchief to the owner to be ex- 
amined, remarking that you hope not even an odor of 
smoke is noticeable about it. 

Whenever displaying feats in magic, it is better for the 
performer to go forward among the audience if he has 
anything to show or have examined, than to allow the 
latter to come to his portion of the room. His table has 
often some things upon it which if seen near by would 
do much toward dispelling the mystery connected with 
his works. 

A wide space should be left between his table and the 
front row of spectators, as he often has occasion to step 
between the two in some of his feats. 

The lights also should be judiciously arranged, so as 
not to shine too directly upon his hands or person, or 
even upon his table. Always have everything you can 
possibly need in some easily accessible place, and in just 
the position most convenient to be taken. 

Decide beforehand what tricks you will perform, and 



OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 307 

in just what order they are to be given. Of course, all 
the materials are not to be spread on the table at the 
commencement of the entertainment, as they would be 
in the way, and confuse you in your first acts ; but they 
should all be at hand, and while articles are being exam- 
ined which have passed through the various vicissitudes 
in a former trick, you can utilize the time when the atten- 
tion is thus carried away from yourself to gather to- 
gether and properly place the materials for your next 
feat. 

Never be induced to perform a trick a second time, 
unless nearly a whole evening' s performance intervenes. 
Even then it is pretty sure to be detected. 

THE MAGIC EOPE. 

Take a piece of clothes-line, six or seven yards long, 
and pass it among your audience for inspection. While 
it is going its rounds, have your hands securely tied 
with a handkerchief, which should be passed around 
the wrists and knotted on one side. 

When the rope is returned to you, drop one end be- 
tween your arms, or inside the handkerchief, and request 
some one to take both ends of the rope and pull, to make 
sure your hands are firmly tied. It would now seem im- 
possible to get the rope off, unless the hands were untied 



308 OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 

or the ends released. After two or three rapid motions, 
however, the rope drops to the floor, while yonr hands 
remain tied as at first. 




First, do not have your hands tied so tightly that yon 
cannot move them ; this can be arranged by holding them 
slightly apart while they are being tied. After the rope 
has been pulled by the holder, it is somewhat relaxed ; 
and then, by rubbing it between the wrists a loop may 
be formed, into which the second finger may be slipped. 
The whole hand is now readily thrust through, and only 
a jerk is necessary to send the rope upon the floor. In 
performing this trick, work as quickly as possible, that 
your movements may not be easily followed. 

A CAMPING-OUT COOKING-STOVE. 

Although the winter season is now well upon us, and 
its reigning king, Jack Frost, jealous if we but mention 



OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 309 

the " camp-fire," has covered its very site with ice and 
snow, we need not fear incurring his displeasure by the 
following exhibition. 

Procure an old silk hat if possible, and pass it among 
your audience for inspection. Have upon the stage, or 
at your end of the room, a table, with a drawer open at 
the back. In this drawer have a small cake in the tin 
in which it was baked. Let it be made in a patty-pan if 
convenient. Beside this cake have a small tin cup, which 
will fit rather tightly into the mouth of a china jar you 
have also provided. On the top of the table have an un- 
lighted candle, the jar, which should be porcelain if pos- 
sible, a basket containing a few eggs, a pitcher of water, 
some flour, and a box marked sugar. The hat, after hav- 
ing been examined, is returned to you ; and the cake, 
along with the cup which is to receive the eggs and flour, 
are put into it. This is effected as follows : Take the cake 
and cup in your left hand, keeping it down behind the 
table, and your hat in the right hand ; bring the cake and 
cup up to the edge, and immediately cover it with the 
hat, which you begin brushing with your right. Keep up 
a running discourse all the time, so that the movement 
will seem natural, and not be suspected. In a moment or 
two partly withdraw the left hand, and grasping the brim 
of the hat, turn it upside down upon the table. If the tin 
is not in a good position to catch the eggs and flour which 



310 OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 

you are to drop into it, palm a penny and pretend to find 
it in the hat, chiding your audience for carelessly over- 
looking it, remarking that although a useful thing to 
have, it is not exactly a proper ingredient for cake. Of 
course, while pretending to pick up the coin, you can ar- 
range the tin cup on top of your cake in the middle of 
the hat. Be sure that it stands firm. 

Now proceed to break one or more eggs, and drop the 
contents into the hat, taking especial care that they drop 
into the cup. Next throw in a spoonful of sugar, and 
then pour a few drops of water and one or two spoonfuls 
of flour into the jar, and stir well with a spoon. Pour the 
contents of the jar into the cup, and then, under pretense 
of draining the last drop into the hat, force the jar down 
over the cup, and work it around until the cup is well 
pushed up into the mouth of the jar. It is needless to 
add that you must pretend all the while that you are 
scraping or shaking out the mixture. The jar can now be 
taken out and carelessly placed behind the sugar-pail or 
any other object, to prevent the edge of the tin cup from 
being seen. 

The trick is now completed, the only necessary thing to 
do is to keep up the acting until the cake is supposed to 
be finished. 

First, stir it well by moving the spoon around quite 
actively in the hat ; then light the candle, and, informing 



OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 311 

your audience that the cake is ready for baking, take the 
hat in one hand and hold it over the candle for a minute 
or two, occasionally glancing in to see if it is doing well. 

In a short time announce that it is baked ; and after 
blowing out the candle, take the cake from the hat, turn 
it out upon a plate, and placing a knife by its side, pass 
it to some one to cut, and politely request your friends to 
try it, and judge upon the efficacy of your camp-stove. 
If the hat was borrowed, return it with thanks to its 
owner, and congratulate him upon having such a useful 
article always on hand. 

NECESSITY OF A SOBER COUNTENANCE. 

In most, in fact all, of these exhibitions, it is absolutely 
necessary that one should keep a sober countenance while 
performing. ~No matter how hard your audience laugh, 
do not allow the shadow of a smile to flit across your 
face. If you do it will take away much of the effective- 
ness and half the mystery, from whatever you are doing. 

I once had a young friend, a quick bright boy, who 
was very successful in palming, and in many of the other 
elements in sleight-of-hand tricks, but he had a ridicu- 
lous and unconquerable habit of laughing whenever his 
audience laughed, and, in fact, of sometimes anticipating 
the laugh, and commencing before his friends saw any- 
thing worth laughing about. 



312 OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 

He was of course not successful, and was never watched 
with as much interest as his brother, who, although not as 
clever, was as sober as a judge from the beginning to the 
end of the performance. No amount of hilarity in the 
audience affected him in the least. If he found it was 
impossible to make himself heard, he stood still and 
waited; but always with the same quiet, calm counte- 
nance he would have worn had he been walking up the 
aisle of a church. Learn to command your countenance, 
as one of the most important requisites of a successful 
magician. 

THE GKEAT CHINESE EOPE FEAT. 

Many years ago this trick was exhibited in a show-win- 
dow on Broadway, but as probably most of the people 
who then saw it have long since forgotten how it was 
performed, I give the following account : 

Two ropes, each about three yards in length, are given 
to the audience to examine, which of course are pro- 
nounced perfect ; then they are passed through the 
sleeves of a coat, in such a way as to suspend it ; the 
ends are then given to two boys to hold. The performer 
then places his hand inside the coat, and having re- 
quested those who are holding the ends of the rope to 
pull, the coat falls to the floor, having in some mysterious 
manner worked off the ropes. 



OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 



313 



Of course, the whole secret of this trick depends upon 
the arrangement of the ropes, which are of themselves 
perfect. After they have been examined, and are re- 
turned to the performer, he pretends to measure them, 
and while so doing manages to bend each rope double ; 



that is, he brings the two ends of each together ; while 
still holding them he contrives to slip a small elastic band 
over the center of one, and bringing the middle of the 
other alongside of it, he slips the band over both, thus 
tying them together, as shown in the illustration. 

Now holding this juncture carelessly in his left hand, 
over which arm a coil or two of the rope is thrown, he 
passes the ends marked A through one sleeve of the coat, 




and the end marked B through the other, and these are 
the ends he gives to the two persons to hold. 



314 OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 

If he now slips off the rubber band, the coat will fall ; 
but each person will have both ends of the same rope in 
his hand, and the mystery would be easily solved. To 
remedy this, however, the performer, under pretense of 
making the trick still more difficult, takes an end from 
each of the holders, and proceeds to tie a single loop, as 
seen in the illustration, thus reversing the ends, which he 
then returns to them. 

Of course, when the band is taken off, each person has 
but one end of either rope in his hand. 

TO PULL A STRING THROUGH A BUTTON-HOLE. 

Tie together the ends of a piece of string about two feet 
long ; pass it thus tied through a button-hole of your 
coat. Hitch the two ends on your thumbs, and catch up 
with each little finger the upper string on the thumb of 
the opposite hand ; then, stretching the hands apart, the 
string will appear in a very complicated tangle. If the 
hold of the right thumb and left little finger, or vice 
versa, be then loosed, and the hands quickly separated, 
the string will come away from, and appear as if it had 
passed through, the outside edge of the button-hole. 

TO UNITE A PARTED STRING. 

Take a piece of string about four feet long ; hold the 
ends, pointed upward, between the first and second fin- 
ger and thumb of the left hand, and the first finger and 



OTHER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS. 315 

thumb of the right hand, letting the remainder of the 
string hang down in a loop. Now bring the right hand 
close to the left, crossing at right angles that end of the 
cord held in the left hand, and continue to pull until half 
the length of the string has passed the left hand, at the 
same time slipping the third finger of the left hand be- 
tween the two parts of the string. 

The first finger and thumb of the right hand should 
then seize the string at a point just below the little finger 
of the left hand, the third finger of that hand at the 
same time drawing back the string toward the palm of 
the hand. 

The part of the string now held horizontally between 
the two hands is only the continuation of the end held in 
the left hand, though it will appear to be the middle of 
the string. 

This piece of the string some one of the audience 
should be invited to cut, and thus apparently divide the 
string in halves, although in fact he only cuts off two or 
three inches. 

Place all the ends of the string between the teeth, with- 
draw the short piece with the tongue, and show the re- 
mainder, apparently as the string was at the commence- 
ment. 

Of course, the string must not be measured, or the trick 
will be detected. 



316 A MINERAL GARDEN. 



A MINERAL GARDEN. 



Fill a clear glass jar — a fruit jar will answer the pur- 
pose — with sand, to the depth of two or threa inches ; 
insert a few pieces of sulphate of iron, sulphate of cop- 
per, and sulphate of aluminum, so that they will be 
barely covered with the sand. 

Now fill the jar to within about three inches of the 
top with a solution of silicate of soda, commonly known 
as " water-glass," which can be procured at most large 
city drug stores. This should be diluted with three 
times its bulk of water before it is poured in ; and care 
should be taken not to stir up the sand and disarrange 
the chemicals. 

After standing about a week, the silicates of the various 
bases will appear in a luxuriant and variously colored 
growth, resembling vegetation. 

Now the silicate solution may be displaced with clear 
water, which should be poured in very carefully, so as 
not to break or disturb the vegetation. This permanent 
miniature forest will be found to present a very attractive 
appearance, and as no pruning or weeding are required, 
the young gardener will probably feel that his trouble is 
well repaid. Its development from day to day will be 
watched with interest by all the members of the house- 
hold, although it will be of especial value to the invalid, 



THE CRYSTAL VASE. 317 

to whom any new and interesting object to watch is a 
blessing indeed. 

Another pleasing and ingenious device I insert for the 
benefit of this class of my readers, wishing, in the mean- 
time, that it might be in my power to make their in-door 
life so bright and full of interest, that they would forget 
the more active sports of their sturdy brothers and sisters, 
or at least cease to regret their enforced confinement. 
This little affair I shall call 



THE CEYSTAL VASE. 

This sparkling ornament will almost make itself, so 
little trouble is required. 

You have only to half fill a tall glass tumbler with 
water, and put in half a teacupful of table salt, then let 
it stand. 

As the water dries out, put in a little more, adding salt 
also in due proportion ; and keep this up for ^ve or six 
months. 

By degrees an incrustation of crystals will fill the 
tumbler, and spread gradually down the outside ; ex- 
tending and thickening till the whole vessel is covered 
with an irregular glittering mass, which might well be 
the work of the ice-sprites in the kingdom of Jack Frost. 

As the crystals approach the bottom of the tumbler, the 



318 THREE CHRISTMAS OR BIRTHDAY GIFTS. 

latter should be set in a saucer ; when the tiny stalactites 
have enveloped this also, the vase is complete. 

Should it be desired to enhance still further the deco- 
rative effect of this by the use of color, a blue tint can be 
communicated by adding a little indigo blueing to the 
salt and water. Should other colors be desired, almost 
all of those employed in coloring alum crystals (see page 
25) may be used with equal success in this case. By 
adding different colors at different times, a variegated 
effect may be produced. 

The gradual growth of the crystals, and enlargement of 
the mass, is a very interesting spectacle. 



THREE CHRISTMAS OR BIRTHDAY GIFTS. 

When speaking of Christmas presents in an earlier por- 
tion of this book, I unintentionally omitted three quite 
interesting and easily made puzzles, which are always 
pleasing sources of amusement to the young folks, and 
sure to while away many half-hours on stormy days. 
Such presents are always valuable additions to the nur- 
sery closet, and in an indirect way are as gratifying to 
mamma and nurse as to the little recipient himself. The 
first of these is called the 

OCTAGON PUZZLE. 

This puzzle consists of twelve irregular pieces of stiff 



THREE CHRISTMAS OR BIRTHDAY GIFTS. 



319 



pasteboard or wood, which are to be arranged in the form 
of an octagon. 

Although these pieces can be cut from pasteboard, they 
are more lasting, stronger, and better every way if made 
of wood. White holly, such as is employed for brackets, 
is a nice material to use. 




With a jig-saw cut four pieces in shape like that repre- 
sented in Fig. 1, four like Fig. 2, and four more like Fig. 
3 ; rub the edges down with sand-paper, and, if you like, 
paint each set a different color. When the paint is dry, 
varnish them. 



320 



THREE CHRISTMAS OR BIRTHDAY GIFTS. 



Pack them in a small pasteboard box, which you can 
neatly cover with paper — any fancy color will do — and 
you will find your little brother or sister will be as well 
pleased with them as with many toys which have come 
direct from the store. 

Another puzzle of the same character as this is 



THE CEOSS PUZZLE. 



In this, as in the Octagon, the pieces composing the 
cross may be made of pasteboard, but are better and 



1 





1 





stronger if made of the white holly or other thin 
" bracket wood." 



THREE CHRISTMAS OR BIRTHDAY GIFTS. 



321 



Cut three pieces — with the jig-saw, of course — in shape 
like Fig. 1, one piece like Fig. 2, and one like Fig. 3. 

These pieces may be of any size, but relatively each one 
must correspond with the sizes and shapes indicated in 
the diagram. 

Paint as fancy may dictate, after smoothing the edges 
off with sand-paper. Pack in a box treated like that 
used for the " Octagon Puzzle." 

The last of these interesting puzzles is known as the 

SQUARE PUZZLE. 

Of the pasteboard or white holly cut out eight squares 
of whatever size desired ; divide four of them into halves 
by cutting them from corner to corner, so there are in all 
twelve pieces. 




The puzzle is to form a square of these twelve pieces. 
The illustration shows how this is done. 
11 



322 A SIMPLE FOUNTAIN. 

When these puzzles are given to the little folks, no 
" key " should accompany them, but the children should 
try to put them together without help. If, however, you 
find they begin to lose interest, show them the first step, 
and encourage them to try to finish it by themselves. 

There are great differences in children in this respect ; 
some persevering and unwilling to be helped at all, while 
others become discouraged at the smallest obstacles and 
refuse to try. The latter should be encouraged by a 
little help, care being taken, however, that they do a con- 
siderable portion of the work themselves. 

No doubt this " indolence," as it is sometimes erro- 
neously called, is generally due to a weak physical condi- 
tion, rather than to inferior mental powers. A child of 
this temperament, instead of being ridiculed by his more 
vigorous companions, should be encouraged and stimu- 
lated to action ; and such games or puzzles as those con- 
tained in this book are just the things to accomplish 
this end. 



A SIMPLE FOUNTAIN. 

Take a bottle holding eight or ten ounces, and insert a 
tube in the cork. A fine glass tube or even a pipe-stem 
will answer. 



THE FAN FROM NAGASAKI. 323 

The tube should reach nearly but not quite to the bot- 
tom of the bottle, and should fit air-tight in the cork. 

Fill the bottle about three-fourths full of water, and 
blow with considerable force down the tube. Upon re- 
moving the mouth, the water will spurt out, forming a 
miniature fountain ; which will continue to play as long 
as any water remains in the bottle. 



THE FAN FROM NAGASAKI. 

A few months ago, a friend who had been for several 
years a resident of Japan, came home to America for a 
visit, and brought with her a bright little son and daugh- 
ter, neither of whom had ever set foot on our American 
shores before. The children were delighted with their 
American cousins; and evidently could not find words 
strong enough to sound the praises of the new games 
and sports which they were constantly learning. 

Their lives had been spent with Chinese or Japanese 
nurses ; and although kind-hearted and devoted as my 
friend assured me these people were, the little exiles 
must have had a sorry time of it in their foreign play- 
room, when compared with our own boys and girls. The 
respect and almost reverence with which they regarded 
Jack, the most daring scapegrace in our family, would 



324 THE FAN FROM NAGASAKI. 

have been very amusing had it not been pathetic. What 
Jack did was always marvelous in their eyes, and into 
many an unsuspected trap they were beguiled by his 
mischievous pranks. They were what most of you boys 
and girls would call very green, when they first reached 
us, but under Jack's tuition, I fear that next winter — in 
fact, at the very time you are reading this— perhaps they 
will be trying the same tricks upon their innocent Japan- 
ese nurse that Jack tried upon them. 

It will not be strange if that long-suffering personage 
does not in his secret heart have less respect for this 
illustrious nation than he has been wont to have before. 

But if so ignorant in most things, these children were 
very ingenious and uncommonly happy in making things 
of paper. 

One rainy morning, about a week after they came to 
us, I had occasion to go into the nursery for something, 
and was quite surprised to find the children busily en- 
gaged in folding paper. Edith had brought down some 
rice-paper from her trunk, and with the help of her 
brother, was fashioning all sorts of odd things from it ; 
while the younger members of my own family were look- 
ing on with intense interest. 

I left the room, after watching them for a few minutes, 
but an hour later, upon entering it again, found them 
still employed in the same amusement. 



THE FAN FROM NAGASAKI. 325 

It seems that their nurse had been in the habit of 
teaching them many Japanese arts to keep them still 
while under his charge. Their nurse was a man, strange 
to say, as very few female servants are employed in either 
China or Japan, and now they in their turn were teach- 
ing these to us. I confess the graceful, pretty things they 
were making had quite a fascination for me, and I even 
left off what I had been doing, and became a pupil with 
the youngsters. I took up the article which they were 
just beginning to learn, and, following my little teacher's 
directions, I made what I have styled "The Fan from 
Nagasaki," because my little instructress was born and 
lived in that city, and learned her art from a native Jap, 
and not because the fan itself, if it can strictly be called 
a fan, came from that region. 

The children called it by a delightfully odd Japanese 
name, which you would find it hard to pronounce even if 
I should invent a way of spelling it. 

Edith used Japanese or rice paper for those she made ; 
but we found a stout quality of brown wrapping-paper, 
not too stiff, answers nearly as well. 

If brown paper is used, a rectangular piece about two 
feet long, by one and a half feet wide, is a good-shaped 
piece to use. 

Mark off each of the edges which measure eighteen 
inches into six equal parts, each division being of course 



326 



THE FAN FROM NAGASAKI. 



three inches long (see Fig. 1). Now double the paper on 
the line at x, and you have a shape like Fig. 2. Fold the 
uppermost half under at the line a a, and again outward 
at the line b b ; then fold the under half in precisely the 
same manner, and your paper is like Fig. 3. 

Upon examining the edge a a a, two openings between 
the folds will be seen ; whereas at the edge b b b, three 
openings will be found. The hand has next to be placed 




in the middle of these three openings, and the paper 
spread out toward the right and toward the left ; that 
middle fold lying flat or unfolded for the time being. 
Another figure is now made like Fig. 4. Now commenc- 
ing at one end of this long strip, crinkle it the whole 
length as you would a lamplighter top, making the 
folds even, about a quarter or half an inch wide. Be 
careful not to make these folds wider than this, as the 



THE FAN FROM NAGASAKI. 327 

fan does not work as well when they are wide. You have 
now a figure like that seen in Fig. 5 ; and if your folds 
have been carefully and firmly creased, your paper is pre- 
pared to make all sorts of strange shapes. I think Edith 
told me her nurse could make sixty -five different forms 
from a similarly folded bit, and most of these she was 
able to reproduce ; but as it is some time since the chil- 
dren left us to visit other friends, and I have not given 
the subject a second thought till now, I find I have for- 
gotten how many of the more intricate ones were formed. 
Perhaps with the directions for these my readers will 
catch the knacky as we Yankees call it, and can improvise 
some forms unlike any of these, for themselves. What- 
ever you succeed in making, you may be quite certain 
that the Nagasakian nurse, away off on the other side of 
the earth, is ahead of you, and has made the same form 
before; for his sixty -five must include about everything 
one could possibly fashion from its folds. 

In Fig. 6, the lower edge of Fig. 5 is held between the 
thumb and forefinger of the left hand, while the top is 
spread out like a fan. For Fig. 7, take Fig. 6, insert the 
fingers at a, and pass them round to b, raising the paper 
outward. Fig. 8 is a continuation of 6 and 7, as the 
upper layer of the overhanging edge in Fig. 7 is raised by 
passing the finger under it at c, and bringing it out at d. 

Fig. 9 is a reverse of Fig. 8. Catch the paper by the 



328 



THE FAN FROM NAGASAKI. 



part now uppermost, pinch that part well together, and 
loosen the part which was confined in Fig. 8. 

It must be remembered that every time the fan is 
changed, the paper must be pinched into its original 
form, Fig. 5. It will now be necessary to make that 
change. After creasing the folds firmly in place (Fig. 5), 
lift up the upper part a, bring the lower plaits b well 




together, and hold them for the handle. With the dis- 
engaged hand, arrange the upper part in the form of a 
sunshade. Another form may be got by raising the upper 
layer of the sunshade cover, a species of cup or goblet. 
By drawing out b until it is at right angles with the up- 
right, the goblet form is nearer correct. 
Now reverse the paper, and spread out the lower part 



THE FAN FROM NAGASAKI. 



329 



so that it may represent the body of a wine-glass ; that 
which in Fig. 10 was the top of the sunshade, is now the 
foot of the glass, as seen in Fig. 11. 

The Chinese lantern (Fig. 12) is as easily made. Open 
out all the paper, and twist it around ; catch it now by 




the central part, and by compressing the central folds 
well together, these wheels are produced (Fig. 13). 

The hat, or cup and saucer (Fig. 14), is readily made by 
opening the paper out again, and catching it at the two ends. 

We now come to a new form of subjects, so the original 
form (Fig. 5), must once more be reverted to. If the 
paper is caught at both ends, it can easily be folded so as 



330 



THE FAN FROM NAGASAKI. 



to form Fig. 15, and a table-mat may be made by draw- 
ing it out like Fig. 16. 

A "nappie" dish, oval in form, and resembling Fig. 
17, may be made from Fig. 16, by simply raising np the 
sides a and b. By pressing the paper inward, Fig. 18 is 




obtained. Fig. 19 is made by drawing the paper out 
again, and letting it loose at the end. Thus you see, by 
pulling out some parts and drawing in others, a quantity 
of things could be made other than these I have shown. 
It would be quite interesting if every boy and girl who 
reads this, would try on some rainy day to see how near 
to the sixty-five he or she could come. If two or three 
friends in the same neighborhood should unite their 



THE MINIATURE YACHT AND HOW TO BIG HER. 331 

forces, and count all which are unlike, without reference 
to the maker, they might not fall so far short of the illus- 
trious Japanese — I wish I could remember his name — 
after all. 



THE MINIATURE YACHT AND HOW TO RIG HER. 

Boat making and sailing are most fascinating pursuits, 
and we do not know but the old saying, " When a man 
has taken to boat-sailing, he is a sailor to the end of his 
days," is to a certain degree applicable to the boy who 
intelligently fits out his tiny craft, and sends her on little 
voyages across the neighboring pond. 

If the sailing is to be done on water of any depth, there 
is one caution we should like to give at the very outset : 
Learn to swim before you sail Tier. No mere pleasure is 
worth risking one's life for, and accidents will happen 
even to the most careful boys. 

After this, you may play on or near the water with as 
much safety as on the land. 

Aside from the pleasure, one learns an extremely useful 
lesson in making a miniature model yacht, and in sailing 
her. A certain familiarity with the rigging, and the looks 
of the thing, will thus be obtained, and if your fingers 
have patiently set up shrouds and stays, and rove the 
mimic halyards, they will be less at sea with the ropes 
and stays of a real vessel. 



332 THE MINIATURE YACHT AND HOW TO RIG HER. 

Many boys living near the sea, and accustomed every 
day to see vessels lying at anchor, or sailing in and out 
of the harbor, have very hazy ideas concerning the rigging 
of any kind of craft. Well I remember in my early days 
of being obliged to run down to the wharf to see where to 
attach my topmast. Whether it belonged forward or aft 
of my mast I had not the slightest remembrance, and yet 
scarcely a day went by without my seeing a vessel in 
some form or other. 

Boys are not the only persons, however, who look at 
things and do not see them. The power of minute and 
careful observation is a rare quality, and the majority of 
people go through life without forming the habit, or in- 
deed dreaming they have not made the best use of their 
sight. 

For the benefit of the boys who belong to this class, 
and those less fortunate ones living inland where yachts 
are unknown, I write this chapter. 

In several of our large cities, ponds are set apart for 
the especial purpose of sailing toy vessels. They are the 
exclusive property of the boys, and any fine afternoon in 
season, and frequently out of season, if the ice does not 
interfere, crowds of boys may be seen sitting on the edges 
of these "lakes," intently watching the graceful fleet as 
it skims lightly over the water. The sixty-acre lake in 
Prospect Park, Brooklyn, and Conservatory Lake, Cen- 




a Keel. 
b Bowsprit. 
c Stern. 
d Mast. 
e Topmast. 
/ Boom. 
g Gaff. 
h Forestay. 
i Shrouds. 



j Jib-stay. 
k Topmast-stay. 
I Topping lift. 
m Main-sheet. 
n Ensign. 
o Throat halyards. 
p Peak halyards. 
q Burgee. 
r Reef points. 



334 THE MINIATURE YACHT AND HOW TO BIG HER. 

tral Park, New York, are both set apart for the owners 
of these miniature yachts ; and it is wonderful how many 
older people, as well as the boys themselves, take interest 
in this amusement. 

The building and sailing of tiny yachts is carried to a 
much greater extent in England than in this country. 
There the Prince of Wales is deeply interested in the 
sport, and has instituted a " Royal Yacht Club," pre- 
sided over by himself, which has regular yacht regattas. 
These regattas take place on Serpentine Lake, in Hyde 
Park, every summer, and are considered quite important 
events. The yachts belonging to this club are very ele- 
gant affairs, one of them being valued at $5,000, yet none 
of them are over five feet in length. 

We do not expect our boy readers to emulate their 
British cousins, but with the following simple directions 
we feel confident they can, with a fair amount of skill in 
the use of tools, and careful labor, make a very respect- 
able miniature yacht, which shall be correct as far as she 
goes in both form and rigging. 

In the fashioning of a miniature boat, the hull is the first 
thing which claims our attention ; and in making this, two 
elements are to be considered, rapidity and stability. 

The rapidity or ease with which a vessel moves through 
water, is gained by a narrow hull — that is, narrow in pro- 
portion to its length — which, to be sure, renders the ves- 



THE MINIATURE YACHT AND HOW TO RIG HER. 335 

sel somewhat unstable ; but this instability may be over- 
come by loading the keel with lead. There is danger, 
however, of carrying this to too great an extent, by low- 
ering the vessel so much that the friction against her 
sides more than counteracts the fine proportions of her 
build. Hence a skillful designer reconciles these two 
points. 

There are two types of model recognized in yacht 
building : First, the English cutter model, which is nar- 
row, and quite deep in proportion to width, with its keel 
heavily weighted to secure the necessary stability. This 
model is best adapted to rough cruising in strong winds 
and heavy seas, such as prevail on the English coasts. 

Second, the American : This, our model, is much wider, 
or, in nautical phrase, has much more beam in proportion 
to length and depth. Indeed, it is often so shallow as to 
merit the term "slumming-dish," ofttimes applied to this 
class of vessels. 

These boats are usually fitted with center-boards, which 
can be lowered or raised according to the need of the 
moment, instead of the deep keel of the English model, 
American vessels having the advantage of smoother water 
in which to make their cruises. The sheltered surface of 
Long Island Sound and the bays which adjoin it at either 
end, afford excellent sailing grounds for those owned in 
New York and the vicinity. 



336 THE MINIATURE YACHT AND HOW TO BIG HER. 

For the toy boats our boys may desire to make, a 
medium between these two types will probably be found 
preferable in practice. 

The center-board may be ruled out at once, as both 
itself and the well in which it plays would require more 
time and patience in their construction than most boys 
would care to give. 

It is much better to have your boat too wide than too 
narrow, as a capsize is far more disconcerting to the aver- 
age young yachtsman, than a slight inferiority of speed. 

For a sloop yacht, the greatest width should be about 
one-third the length ; and the point of greatest width, or 
beam, should be somewhat nearer the stern than bow. 

Probably the best way to make a toy yacht is to pro- 
cure a piece of wood, which is about three times as long 
as it is wide and deep, and whittle out your hull as your 
judgment or fancy may dictate ; keeping in mind a few 
essential points, however, to insure ultimate success. 

First, draw a line from the middle point of one end to 
the middle point of the other end of the top of the block ; 
this will serve as a guide to the bow and the center of the 
stern. Care should be taken not to make your vessel too 
blunt at the bow ; as a sailor would say, " the lines at the 
bow should be fine when they meet the water." 

The elegant appearance of the boat is increased by giv- 
ing an overhang to the stern, instead of running it up 



THE MINIATURE YACHT AND HOW TO BIG HER. 387 

vertically ; and if the young builder is confident in the 
use of his tools, a sheer, as it is called, of the lines at the 
top, or the gunwale, will add greatly to the grace of its 
appearance. For the benefit of those who do not under- 
stand the meaning of the word sheer, it may be explained 
that it is the gradual and graceful downward curve from 
bow to stem, noticeable in the bulwarks of vessels when 
seen from one side. 

It is perhaps superfluous to add that great care should 
be taken to have each side of the craft alike, for if a pre- 
ponderance of weight is on one side, the vessel will tip ; 
while if the curve is unequal, she will not sail evenly. 

The hollowing out of the inside is most conveniently 
accomplished with a sharp gouge and mallet, while the 
hull is secured firmly in a vise. When this is finished, a 
hole should be made in the bottom to receive the lower 
end of the mast, and care should be taken not to bore 
through the hull, as it would be difficult to stop the in- 
gress of water through it. 

We have now come to the keel, which must be firmly 
attached to the hull. The best way to do this is to drive 
three slender brass screws through the bottom of the boat, 
with ends projecting from one-fourth to one-half an inch 
along the line of the proposed keel. Make a temporary 
box around these, inclosing a space equal to the length 
and breadth of the keel, with strips of thin wood, such as 



338 THE MINIATURE YACHT AND HOW TO BIG HER. 

cigar-box wood ; strips of heavy pasteboard may answer 
the purpose sufficiently well. In either case this mold 
should be firmly attached to the hull, in such a manner 
that after casting the keel it may be readily removed. 
Perhaps the best way to accomplish this is to paste it in 
place by means of narrow bands of stout paper. The in- 
side of the mold must be rubbed with oil or lard to pre- 
vent the ]ead from adhering to its sides. This lead must 
be melted over a very hot fire, so that it will not cool too 
rapidly upon entering the mold, in which case it would 
not hold together as well. When cold, the mold may be 
detached, and the keel will be held firmly in place by the 
three screws. 

The deck should be made of thin board, cut so as to 
accurately fit the top of your hull. If a sheer has been 
given to the bulwarks, it is of course much more difficult 
to fit the deck accurately, as it should follow the curve. 
It will very likely be found necessary to steam the board 
used, to make it sufficiently flexible. It will be possible 
to use stout pasteboard for the purpose, if both sides and 
edges are given a couple of coats of paint, which treat- 
ment should also be applied to the inside of the hole for 
the mast. 

This hole should be placed very slightly farther astern 
than the hole already mentioned, made in the bottom of 
the vessel. The effect of this will be to ffive the mast a 



THE MINIATURE YACHT AND HOW TO BIG HER. 339 

slight rake. This is always the case with the masts of 
a schooner yacht, but builders of sloop yachts occasion- 
ally omit the rake and "step" the mast in a vertical 
position. 

The bowsprit may be fastened by two staples made of 
small wire, and driven down over it. One is driven down 
into the stem, or extreme forward point of the hull, and 
corresponds to what is called the "gammon iron" in a 
full-sized craft; the other secures the "inboard" end of 
the bowsprit, or that which is nearer the stern. This end 
is called the heel, and should nearly reach the mast. The 
outer end should project beyond the hull to a distance of 
nearly one-third the latter' s length. 

The rudder can be whittled from a thin piece of wood, 
in the shape shown in the figure ; the upper part or head 
is round, and passes up through a hole in the overhang. 
The top of this rudder-head is squared off to fit the hole 
in the end of the tiller or helm. The rudder is " shipped ' ' 
very much as a barn-door or window-blind is set in place. 
Suitable hinges for the rudder of a toy boat can be made 
of pins from which the heads have been filed. Two pins 
may be bent double for staples, and inserted into the 
"stern-post" of the vessel; while two others bent at 
right angles may be driven into the rudder, the project- 
ing ends hanging down through the staples. The rudder 
should turn with sufficient friction to hold its place, at 



340 THE MINIATURE YACHT AND HOW TO RIG HER. 

whatever angle it may be set. The hollow of the boat 
should not extend back into the overhang, as water might 
enter it through the rudder- hole. 

The mast is composed of two parts or pieces ; the lower 
part is what is always understood when the "mast" is 
spoken of. The smaller piece, fastened to the upper end 
of the mast, is called the topmast. 

The "mast," which extends above the deck to a dis- 
tance equal to about three-fourths the length of the hull, 
passes through the hole in the deck already mentioned, 
and rests firmly in the hole made for it in the bottom of 
the hull. 

The lower end of the topmast is lapped on in front of 
the upper end of the mast, as seen in the figure, and may 
be secured in place by two loops of fine brass wire. 

The spars of next importance are those which stretch 
the mainsail. The larger is called the "boom," and ex- 
tends along the lower edge or "foot" of the mainsail ; 
while the other, which is called the "gaff," is secured to 
its upper edge or "head." The boom is equal in length 
to the mast ; the usual meaning of the word is here in- 
tended, i. e., the lower part. The gaff is a little over one- 
half the length of the boom. 

The mast and topmast taper slightly toward their 
upper ends, while the gaff is nearly the same size 
throughout its entire length. The boom generally 



THE MINIATURE YACHT AND HOW TO BIG HER. 341 

swells a little, being somewhat larger in the middle 
than at either end. 

The boom and gaff are adjusted to the mast by a 
"jaw" on either side, forming a crotch, which keeps 
them from slipping off. Builders of miniature yachts 
wil], however, probably find it more convenient to whittle 
the ends of the spars in the form of a crotch than to 
attach jaws as separate pieces. 

Other smaller spars which enter into the equipment of 
racing craft, will be mentioned in speaking of the sails. 

The standing rigging is now to be considered ; this 
consists of stays and shrouds. "Shrouds" are ropes 
which lead from near the head of the mast to either side 
of the vessel, where they are fastened into the chain- 
plates. These are strong iron bands firmly bolted to the 
timbers. The shrouds of the model yacht, however, can 
be attached to copper tacks driven into the sides. They 
— the shrouds — are tied around the mast just below the 
point where the lower end of the topmast ends. 

In "real" yachts these shrouds end in loops which en- 
circle the mast, and rest upon, or are held in place by 
blocks called "hounds" attached to either side. But 
young ship-builders will probably find it will answer all 
purposes to make a slight notch on either side of the 
mast, at the point indicated. 

A sloop yacht has usually two shrouds on either side, 



342 THE MINIATURE YACHT AND HOW TO RIG HER. 

while in a large ship there are four or five, making, as is 
known, a good-sized ladder. 

The " fore-stay " runs from the same point on the mast 
to the top of stem. 

In case the reader may be ignorant of the meaning of 
nautical terms, it may be well to say here that by 
"stem" is meant the piece of timber in the hull placed 
farthest forward, also called " forefoot" and " cutwater." 
The " fore-stay" may be passed through the staple al- 
ready mentioned, which fastens the bowsprit to the hull. 
The jib-stay passes from mast-head to outer end of 
bowsprit. 

The topmast-stay runs from the top of the topmast to 
the forward end of the bowsprit ; here it is sometimes 
passed through a hole in the end, and brought down to 
the forefoot, near the water line. 

The bob-stay runs from the end of the bowsprit to the 
stem, and acts as a brace to offset the strain of the ' ' head- 
sails," or the sails in front of the mast. In a large yacht 
it is necessary that this stay be very strong ; and in such 
cases it is often a substantial strip of iron or steel. 

A yacht has, also, what are called "backstays," which 
run on either side from head of "topmast" to points on 
the sides somewhat abaft, or back of the places where the 
shrouds are attached. 

There are also " cross-trees," with " topmast shrouds" 



THE MINIATURE YACHT AND HOW TO BIG HER. 343 

leading from them to the top of the topmast ; but these, 
as well as the backstays, may as well be dispensed with 
by our juvenile naval architect, as a complication of un- 
necessary cords is to be avoided on a miniature craft. 

We must now take up the sails, the most important of 
which is the mainsail. The shape of this may be suffi- 
ciently well understood from the figure. The edge next 
the mast is called the "luff," while the outer or longer 
side opposite to this is called the " leech." The upper 
and lower edges are called respectively the " head " and 
"foot." The lower after corner of this sail is called the 
"clew," the lower fore corner the "tack," while the 
upper after corner is called the " peak." 

The "mast-hoops" are attached to the "luff" and run 
up and down the mast as the sail is raised or lowered. In 
vessels of miniature size, these may be supplied by small 
brass curtain rings. The "foresail" also runs on small 
rings or loops which slide on the forestay. The jib, in 
like manner, is attached to the "jib-stay" ; the "jib-top- 
sail" or "flying- jib" to topmast-stay. 

It may be well to dispense with the forestay, and to en- 
large the jib so as to occupy the additional space thus 
given, as the work will be less, and the appearance quite 
as good. 

It now remains to consider the "gaff- topsail," which 
occupies the space between the topmast and the gaff. 



344 THE MINIATURE YACHT AND HOW TO BIG HER. 

This sail is set in quite a number of ways ; in a sloop 
yacht it is usual to stretch it on two light spars, which are 
contiguous to mast and gaff. 

Beside these, racing yachts in light winds carry a ''bal- 
loon jib," which is simply an extremely large jib-topsail ; 
and a "spinnaker," which is used in going before the 
wind. It is shaped like a large jib, and is spread by 
means of a small spar extending along its foot, called the 
"spinnaker boom," so that it may take the wind on the 
side opposite the mainsail. 

These sails are spread by means of running rigging. 
First, the halyards, by means of which the sails are 
hoisted. The mainsail usually has two halyards, one line 
being attached to the gaff near where it touches the mast, 
which is called the "throat halyards." The other is 
smaller, encountering less strain, and is termed "peak 
halyards," as it raises that part of the sail after the luff 
has been hoisted. 

The gaff-topsail of a regular yacht also has two hal- 
yards, one of which raises the edge next the mast, and 
the other draws its foot out to end of gaff. 

The " jibs " are each raised by one "halyard " attached 
to head or upper corner. 

In a small boat like that we are considering, one hal- 
yard for each sail will be amply sufficient. In fact it is a 
frequent practice to keep the sails permanently spread ; 



A SCHOONER YACHT. 345 

which has this in its favor, that they are much smoother, 
much less wrinkled, than when furled between cruises. 

The " topping lift " is a Kne which leads from the head 
of the "mast" to the outer end of the " boom," which it 
keeps from falling on deck when sail is lowered. 

The sheets are not sails, as the reader not conversant 
with nautical expressions would suppose, but ropes, or 
lines, which keep the sails in their proper position in 
respect to the wind. The main-slieet, which controls the 
mainsail, is attached to the boom at a point just above the 
stern, to which the other end is led. Here it is fastened 
to a cleat. 

The sheets of the headsails are fastened to their 
" clews" or lower aft corners, and led to cleats near foot 
of mast. In large craft the sheets are passed through a 
number of pulleys in order to secure sufficient purchase. 

In addition to the rigging already mentioned, many 
other ropes might be enumerated, such as the "down- 
hauls," " outhauls," " spinnaker brace and guy," " bow- 
sprit shrouds," etc., but as has already been said, the less 
confusion of cords in a miniature craft, the better. 



A SCHOONER YACHT. 

In this the length should be greater in proportion to its 
other dimensions than in the sloop yacht. The mainmast 



346 A SCHOONER YACHT. 

should be stepped a little abaft the middle point of the 
hull. The foremast is stepped about midway between 
the mainmast and the stem, and should be very nearly as 
high as the mainmast. The f oretop-mast, however, should 
be decidedly shorter than the maintop-mast. 

The bowsprit of the schooner yacht should be some- 
what thicker and shorter in proportion than that of the 
sloop yacht, and is lengthened to the desired extent by 
means of a small spar resting on its top, which is called 
the jib-boom. 

The forestay comes down to the bowsprit head, instead 
of to the stem. The jib-stay runs from the mast-head to 
the jib-boom, through which it passes a short distance 
from the end of the latter. The topmast stay extends 
from the upper part of the topmast to the end of the jib- 
boom. The two latter stays pass from the jib-boom to the 
" martingale," a short spar, which has a hook at its 
upper end. This hook passes through an iron ring on 
the under side of the head of the bowsprit. 

The martingale extends downward toward the water, 
while the stays pass through it, or through iron loops 
affixed to either side, and are fastened to the stem or the 
upper part of the bows. 

As in the sloop, one or more stout bobstays connect the 
bowsprit head with the stem. 

The two masts are braced together by means of certain 




ISil 



iPlifeiiilliilliiilillliii 1 



A SCHOONER YACHT. 



349 



stays, of which the most important is the spring-stay, 
which connects the mast-heads. Two other stays extend 
from the maintop-mast to the foremast head. (See figure.) 




a Mainmast. 
b Foremast. 



c Bowsprit. 
d Jib-boom. 



e Martingale. 
/ Spring-stay. 



The mainsail and its gaff-topsail are similar to those of 
the sloop, but the foresail is much smaller, as it must 
pass between the masts in tacking, and varies little in 
breadth from head to foot. 

A schooner yacht has a maintop-mast staysail, which is 
used in racing, and comes down nearly to the deck. Its 
sheet is rove through a block at the after end of the boom, 



350 A SCHOONER YACHT. 

whence it is brought back to the stern and " belayed" to 
a cleat. 

"Belaying " is the nautical term for winding a rope on 
a cleat or belaying pin ; which is done as a boy winds his 
kite string, on each end alternately, in figure-eight style. 

The fore gaff-topsail is not provided with spars or 
booms at its edges, but has rings along its luff, like those 
of the lower sails, which run on the foretop-mast. 

The sails of a large vessel have ropes called bolt -ropes, 
sewed entirely around their edges, which may, of course, 
be dispensed with in the sails of the miniature yacht, as 
they will be sufficiently strong without such aid. 

The reef -points are short lengths of small rope, arranged 
at equal distances from each other, in rows parallel to the 
booms ; they pass through the sail and hang down on 
either side. There are usually two rows of these on the 
foresail, and three on the mainsail, while the larger 
headsails are also provided with them. 

Before the sails are put on or bent, it will be advisable 
to paint the yacht. A coat of paint should have been 
given to the inside of hull as well as under side of deck, 
to prevent the wood from becoming water-soaked in case 
of leakage. 

Custom has rigidly prescribed the colors for the exterior 
of a yacht, above the water line ; either black or white, 
with a narrow gold line below the gunwale, being univer- 



A SCHOONER YACHT. 351 

sally employed. Below the water line greater latitude 
may be given to individual taste ; either dark green, 
brown, or black, may be used, according to the preference 
of the owner. 

The greatest pains are taken to keep the bottom of a 
racing yacht in the smoothest possible condition. It is 
usually covered with black-lead and polished to the ut- 
most degree. This treatment is often renewed three or 
four times in the course of a season. 

The mast should not be painted, but stained a bright 
yellow, with a little raw sienna in oil. When dry it 
should be shellacked ; in fact, the latter will form a good 
coating for the painted surface of the hull as well. If the 
shellac be thick, it may of itself stain the mast to a suf- 
ficient extent, but in that case — if thick — it should not be 
used on the white hull. The short space where the main- 
mast and topmast overlap each other should be painted 
the color of the hull. The bowsprit should be the color 
of the hull, and the jib-boom stained like the masts. 
The deck may be painted with white, to which enough 
sienna has been added to give it a buff tint. 

The prow, or upper portion of stem just below the bow- 
sprit, is usually carved and gilded ; and the stem is occa- 
sionally decorated in like manner ; but although there 
seems to be no limit to the increasing richness and ele- 
gance of the interior of our American yachts, the tend- 



352 A SCHOONER YACHT. 

ency of the time leads more and more toward a severely- 
plain and quiet treatment of the exterior. 

A yacht always carries a little triangular flag at the 
topmast-head called the "burgee." 

A schooner yacht, of course, flies two of them, one at 
each mast-head. These are simultaneously hauled down 
at the moment of sunset. A national flag, called the " en- 
sign," is generally hoisted at the peak of the mainsail. 

These instructions apply equally well to the papier- 
mache boats described at page 90, which have the advan- 
tages of lightness and ease of construction. 



3^77-3 



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